Animal Parade: The Next Generation
by A Girl Named Ed
Summary: *cues up Star Trek: TNG theme song* Basically, a revisited version of AP with the main and rival kids. Surprisingly few OC's. Full ish summary inside! Please read! Rating for a teensy bit of language. *COMPLETE!*
1. Prologue

**Ed is back with a vengance and a new fanfic! Yay! *cue Star Trek: TNG theme music here*  
Basic plot: Taking place several years after the events of the original Animal Parade, Hikari's daughter Ageha now has to re-ring the bells because the Harvest King has disappeared again, and no one, not even the Harvest Goddess, knows why.  
I was considering doing a sequel to Love, Hate, and High School about Skye in cooking school, but I randomly came up with this idea about a week ago and now here we are! I know this is short but granted it is a prologue and most prologues are kind of short. I'll be putting the first chapter up a few minutes after this one, too.  
Um, if anyone has written a fic with a similar storyline and/or title, please let me know. Thank you.  
And please review! I like constructive criticism; I'm always trying to improve! You never stop learning, you know, especially when you're still in high school.../fail  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon and I don't think there's much chance of me ever owning it.**

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Prologue

The Harvest Goddess looked up at the Goddess Tree and smiled. It had been years since Hikari had rung the bells and restored power to the land of Castanet. Time was, of course, unimportant to the immortal, but much time had definitely passed. Hikari had won the heart of and married the young (compared to the Goddess, anyway) wizard Gale, and they'd had two children, a boy and a girl. Hikari often visited the Goddess to talk to her about the world beyond her little pond in the Garmon Mine district. Other couples had gotten married as well–Gill and Luna, Luke and Selena, Owen and Kathy, Chase and Maya ("About time," Hikari said), and many others as well. Ramsey was enjoying his retirement since Owen had taken over the blacksmith's. Luna had taken over Sonata Tailoring (though Candace still did most of the work). Hamilton was still the mayor, but Gill wanted to run against him in the next election. Castanet's next generation was starting to grow up, and in the Goddess's humble opinion, they were turning out alright.

A small, dark shape fell from the Tree, and she frowned. She walked to it and picked It up. It was a small twig. The deity looked around her and saw that the ground was littered with similar twigs.

If it had been any other tree, she wouldn't have worried. But because it was the Goddess Tree, the source of power for both her and Castanet, she did.

_How did I not see it before?_ she thought, looking up at the tree. _The Goddess Tree is dying again._


	2. Chapter 1: Back to the Grind

**Ed: Hellooo there! Chapter 1 is now officially up for business!  
Ageha: Finally.  
Ed: Don't ridicule your creator!  
Ageha: I notice you made Wizard my father.  
Ed: A perfectly logical choice. I wanted all the rival kids, and Wizard can't have rival kids, so there! I'm not a Wizard fangirl...really  
Ageha: Someone's knee-deep in denial, and I don't mean the river in Egypt. That same someone's been watching too much Star Trek.  
Ed: I was raised by a Trekkie, okay?! Anyway, please enjoy the first chapter!  
Ageha: She doesn't own Harvest Moon, but she does own me and Ace. Well, she never paid for us, but she made us and all, so there you are.  


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Chapter 1: Back to the Grind

"Are you sure–?"

"Mom, I'm fine, okay? It's not like this is my first day of school or anything."

Ageha was standing in the doorway of her parent's new home, attempting to leave. She had one foot out the door and was looking back in at her parents.

Hikari, her mom, was a bubbly, middle-aged ex-farmer with slightly-greying brown hair. It was hard to believe that when she'd first arrived in Harmonica Town, she was a novice farmer with no tools, no friends, no money, and no experience. Now, she was almost better than Craig, Cain, Hannah, and Ruth combined. It had taken a lot of begging, pleading, arguing, and blackmail to get her to retire early from farming and move back to the house her father had lived in before they'd gotten married, leaving the farm to Ageha.

Gale, her father, was a thoughtful, soft-spoken wizard. Her parents were living proof of the theory that opposites attract–he was as quiet as she was energetic. Ageha had inherited his silver hair–though it was a darker shade–and while he had one green eye and one gold eye, both her eyes were gold.

He now regarded her quietly with those eyes. "Ageha...you know you can talk to us...if there are any problems?"

Ageha blew her bangs out of her eyes in frustration. "How many times do I have to say this? I. Will. Be. Fine. Besides, I have Harvey and Pounce."

"Harvey's a white rabbit and Pounce is an orange tabby," Hikari said.

"Whatever. I'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry."

Gale smiled softly. "It is...a parent's job...to worry."

Ageha hugged her parents. "I promise not to do anything stupid. Okay? See you later!" And she skipped out of the house.

Her older brother, Ace, was waiting for her next to the Ocarina Inn. "Hi, Ace!" she chirped. "How'd you get here so fast?"

He pointed up the hill. "The mine cart..."

Ace lived in the house just above Owen's shop in the Garmon Mine district. As a boy, he'd been fascinated with mining, so when he'd moved out a couple of years ago, he'd moved as close to the mine as possible. While Ageha acted more like their mother, Ace was more like Gale: quiet and soft-spoken. He kept his silver hair cut short, and his green eyes sparkled when the light caught them right. They argued a lot, but as brothers go, Ageha didn't think he was so bad.

"Is there something you wanted?" she asked him.

He pointed at the pink building behind them. "Lunch..."

Ageha smirked. "Dakota?" He blushed darkly. "Thought so." Ace had had a crush on Maya and Chase's daughter, Dakota, since they were all in school together. She was studying cooking under the combined tutelage of her father and her great-grandmother, Yolanda.

"I just want...lunch."

"Yeah, sure. Come on, I'll buy you some Salmon Fried Rice." She opened the door, and when Ace was safely seated at a table, she called into the kitchen, "Dakooooootaaaaa! Someone's here to seeeeeee yooooooou!"

"Ageha!" Ace hissed, jumping up.

"You've got to ask her out sometime," Ageha hissed back. "Consider it payback for buying you lunch."

"I fail to see how you'll benefit from this."

"Are you kidding? This is going to be fun!"

Dakota appeared, her strawberry-blonde pigtails bouncing merrily as she skipped over to the siblings. "Hi, Ageha!" she chirped. She stopped and blushed when she saw Ace. "Oh. H-hi, Ace."

"Hi."

Ageha bought her Egg Sandwich and Ace's Salmon Fried Rice, then situated herself at a table nearby so she could watch the spectacle unfold. _I am such a mean person,_ she thought. _But do I particularly care? Not really._

"So, Dakota, I was wondering..." Ace started. Dakota looked interested. "W-would you like to, uh, go stargazing with m-me sometime?"

Dakota beamed at him. "Sure! When would you like to go?"

Ageha slipped out quietly. Her brother would dismember her later, but it would be worth it. Ageha loved playing matchmaker. She didn't get to do it very often, but when she could (like that time with Chloe and Paolo, two of her upperclassmen), she did it with great gusto. Something else she'd inherited from her father was her powers. She could read people's hearts and communicate with animals and certain inanimate objects. So most of the time, she knew what other people were thinking–and she knew when people had crushes on each other.

Once the door had shut behind her, she headed for her farm. Ageha smiled. _Her_ farm. Not the family farm. Her farm. It was called 'Symphony Ranch,' in keeping with the music theme that the entire town seemed to have. Ageha had definitely gotten the better end of the deal: she now had a nice house to live in, lots of field space, and two large barns to use. There were also three cows (Patches, Peony, and Puddles), three sheep (Cuddles, Cranky, and Cream), six chickens (Norton, Noah, Nixon, Nathan, Natalie, and Nunchakus), a duck (Donald), an ostrich (Mike), a horse (Sophie), an old nanny goat (Francis), four silkworms (Abby, Alice, Alex, and Andrea), and of course Harvey and Pounce. Ageha rolled up the sleeves of her sporty outfit and grabbed her watering can. _Time to get going,_ she thought, filling it up.


	3. Chapter 2: History Repeats Itself

**Ed: Yaaaay! I've got the second chapter up!  
Ageha: Wow, that was fast.  
Ed: Well, when you have no life like me...  
Ace: ...  
Ed: What are you doing here?! You aren't even in this chapter!  
Ace: You asked me...to do this chapter's...disclaimer...  
Ed: Right. Go ahead.  
Ace: Editor-nee-chan does not own...has never owned...and probably never will own...Harvest Moon or its characters. Her OC's...that is to say, my sister and I...are figments of her imagination.  
Ed: Thank you, Ace. Now, on with Chapter 2!**

Chapter 2: History Repeats Itself

"Ageha! Ageha, wake up!"

The tired farmer mumbled something incomprehensible and pulled the covers over her head. The Harvest Sprite Finn sighed exasperatedly. _Hikari was so much easier to deal with!_ he thought, sighing. "Wake up, now!" he screamed in her ear.

"GAAAAH!" she yelled, sitting bolt upright. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" She looked around. "Huh? Who woke me up?" Finn cleared his throat and she gasped. "A fairy...?"

"How rude! I'm a Harvest Sprite!" He cleared his throat again. "My name is Finn. I was created by the Harvest Goddess to help guide your mother, and now I need to guide you–to the Goddess! She needs help!"

Ageha stared at Finn. "Sorry, I'm still getting over the 'created by the _Harvest Goddess_ to help _my mother_' bit. How come I never noticed you?"

"I didn't want you to. Most people can't see me unless I want them to, but Hikari is an exception."

"This is ridiculous; I'm going back to sleep." She flopped back down and pulled the covers over her head again.

"Noooooo! Ageha, get uuuuuuup!" he whined, flying above her head in circles.

She groaned and sat up again. "Fine, I'm up," she muttered. "Happy?" Then she looked at her clock. "Finn," she said patiently. "You do realize that it's _three in the freaking morning?!_"

"Trust me, if this could wait, it would. Get dressed, we're going to go see the Goddess!"

Ageha pulled herself out of bed and stumbled to her dresser. "I hate you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going already; time's a-wasting!"

While it was a great honour and all to be in the presence of the deity, Ageha was also really tired.

"Thank you so much for coming, Ageha," the Goddess said as the rancher stood there trying (and failing) to stifle a yawn. "I know it's late, but I really need your help."

"Why?" Ageha asked.

The Goddess gestured towards the tree behind her. "This is the Goddess Tree. When it flourishes, the land flourishes—as does my power. But the tree is dying, Ageha. I need your help to save it."

There was a brief pause. Then Ageha asked the obvious question. "Why mine?"

"You are the daughter of the original hero, Hikari. What I need—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a second. My mom is a _hero_? What's that supposed to mean?"

"This same predicament happened once before, many years ago," the Goddess explained. "Your mother was the one who rang the five bells and restored balance to the land, also returning my power and bringing the Harvest King back."

Ageha knew the story of the five bells; her mother had told it to her countless times. A stranger came to Castanet, and saved it by ringing five bells: red for fire, yellow for earth, blue for water, green for wind, and purple for spirit. When the hero rang all five bells, the Harvest King returned, and peace fell upon the land.

_But...I always thought that story took place hundreds of years ago! And now, to find out my mom is the hero in the legend of the bells..._ Ageha shook her head. _It's so hard to believe...and yet, here I am, talking to a Goddess. Maybe there's some truth to it?_

"What, so you need me to ring the five bells again?" The Goddess and the Sprite nodded. Ageha sighed. "Okay, what do I need to do?"

The Goddess clapped her hands happily. "Thank you so much, Ageha! Could you ring Alan's bell first? It's on the tenth floor of the Garmon Lower Mine."

"Garmon Lower Mine, tenth floor. Got it." Ageha turned to go, then paused. "Wait...if the Harvest King came back, why is the Tree wilting again?"

"That's why I need you to ring Alan's bell first. The Upper Garmon Mine can't be accessed until the Fire Bell is rung, because it powers the lights inside the mine. Once the Upper Mine can be accessed, I'll need you to climb to the top and see if you can find the King, or if he's left, if there's any indication of why."

Ageha rubbed her eyes and nodded. "Okay, I'll get right on that. But first, I'm going back to bed." She waved sleepily. "G'night, Miss Goddess." And off she stumbled.

Finn swirled nervously around the Goddess. "Do you really think she can do it? She seems a little...I don't know. She's definitely not Hikari, that's for sure."

She smiled at Finn. "Don't worry, Finn. It will be fine. Go with her, make sure she's okay." The sprite nodded and soared off. The Harvest Goddess looked behind her at the slowly wilting Tree. The ground beneath it had more twigs beneath it than it had before. _Please hurry, Ageha,_ she thought desperately. _Everyone's counting on you._


	4. Chapter 3: The Red Bell of Fire

**Ed: Well, here we are again.  
Ageha: And someone reviewed!  
Ed: Yes! Thank you to Kinnetik Ishisu for your review!  
Ageha: Okay, I think it's time to get on with it.  
Ace: Miss Ed doesn't own anything to do with Harvest Moon.  
Ed: Well, I own AP, SI, and DSCute, but I don't really think that counts...  
Ageha: No, it doesn't. But me and Ace are figments of her imagination!  
Ed: True that. Without further ado, please enjoy the third chapter! *cues up Star Trek music again*  
Ace and Ageha: Harvest Goddess, you're such a nerd...**

Chapter 3: The Red Bell of Fire

"Ageha! Hey, Ageha!"

Ageha turned to see Heath, her best (male) friend, running up to her. "Morning, Heath," she said, yawning. "What's up? I was just about to go to the mine. Want to come?"

It was the day after Ageha's meeting with the Harvest Goddess. After returning home, Ageha hadn't gotten much sleep, but she'd made a promise to the Goddess, and when Ageha made a promise, you could bet your life she'd keep it.

Heath's bright green eyes shone. "Is it true that you're trying to ring the five bells and that your mom is the hero?"

Ageha sighed. Ever since they were children, Heath had been interested in adventuring and exploring. It was probably hereditary, since his father, Calvin, was an explorer, and his mom, Pheobe, loved mining and inventing things out of the things she found in the mines. Heath had also inherited his green hair and eyes from his mother, but his fashion sense (or lack thereof, Ageha sometimes argued) was something he`d definitely gotten from Calvin. He usually dressed like he was about to embark on an African safari or something, complete with hat. She wasn't sure how he'd heard about her 'quest,' as it were, but he had, and from experience, Ageha knew that he would worry at it like a dog on a bone.

She chewed the inside of her cheeks. "Yes, to both questions."

He jumped for joy. "I knew it! You`re so cool, Ageha! Which bell are you going to ring first?"

Ageha told him about the request that she ring the Red Bell first, and he grinned. "Oh, I can take you to it!"

"Really?"

"Sure! It's not that far down. It's only on the tenth floor. Come on!" He raced off towards the mine's entrance.

Ageha shook her head. _He gets more and more ridiculous every time I see him,_ she thought as she followed, more slowly. _You'd think it was him ringing the bells and not me!_

Heath talked her ear off the entire way down. As annoying as he could be sometimes, Ageha couldn't help but laugh when he was around. He made her feel good. _Understandable, since we're best friends and all,_ she thought.

A loud, "Here we are!" interrupted her thoughts. Heath was gesturing proudly to a red pedestal with a red bell hanging from it. "This is the Red Bell!" Suddenly a young man, about twenty, came around the other side of the bell. He had rusty red hair, narrow green eyes, and a solid, muscular build.

"Roy?" Ageha said, startled. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the Blacksmith's?" Roy was studying under his father, Owen, to be a blacksmith.

Roy shrugged. "I'm taking a break. Can't a guy take a break every once in a while?"

Finn, who was circling Ageha's head, stopped and started waving his arms around, trying to get his charge's attention. "Earth to Ageha! Could you just ring the bell already so we can go see the Harvest King?"

"We're here to ring the bell!" Heath suddenly said proudly. Apparently, Roy had just asked why they were there.

"Well, I am anyway," Ageha added, approaching it. "Finn, what do I do?" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"The Harvest Goddess asked all the Sprites to return to their bells so they could ring them when the time comes. Alan is the Sprite for the Red Bell, so you'll need to call him out and ask him to ring the bell."

"And how do I—?"

Before she could finish her sentence, a tiny person, who looked a lot like Finn but with red clothes instead of orange, appeared suddenly. Ageha gasped. "What's wrong?" Heath and Roy asked at the same time.

_Right, they can't see Harvest Sprites,_ Ageha thought.

"Hello! My name is Alan. I'm the Harvest Sprite of Fire!" The Sprite bowed. "Pleased to meet you!"

"Er, same here. Listen," she said quietly, "could you please ring your bell?"

"No problem! ཀྵ" Alan turned to the bell. "Oh, Bell of Fire! Play your melody! Let it ring across the land! Restore the Fire to Castanet!"

The bell began to swing back and forth. Ageha stepped away as a pretty five-note melody emanated from it. She could almost feel the power coming off the bell in waves; it was warm, but not unpleasant. Instinctively, she knew that kitchen stoves would start working, fires would start burning, and fire had returned to Castanet.

"Thank you, Ageha," Alan was saying. "I'm going to return to the Harvest Goddess now. Good luck!" And he disappeared.

Ageha turned to see Heath and Roy giving her a funny look. "What?" she asked, straightening.

"Did you just ring the bell?" Roy asked.

"Yup."

"Awesome!" Heath cheered. "You're so cool!"

"Uh, thank you," Ageha replied, feeling herself blush slightly at the praise. "Well, thanks for bringing me here, Heath. See you later, guys." She headed for the stairs to go out of the mine.

"Wait!" Ageha turned to see the boys following her. "Where are you going?"

"To the Harvest King's throne, at the top of the Upper Mine. Why?"

"I'll come with you!" Heath declared.

"Me too," Roy added.

"No way!" snapped Heath. "I want to go with her!"

"You're always hanging out with her!" Roy complained. "No one else ever gets a chance!"

"Will you two knock it off?!" screamed Ageha. "I'm not going to get anything done with you two around! Roy, you should be getting back to work. And Heath, go home."

"But—" they protested.

"NOW!" she roared, and they scampered off. Ageha sighed and turned to the entrance to the Garmon Upper Mine. "Hokay, that happened," she said, mounting the first step.

"Those two are weird; why are you friends with them?" Finn asked as she continued to climb.

"Because we've known each other since forever," answered the farmer. "In a town this small, it's hard not to get along with most people."

"They're still weird."

"This coming from a Harvest Sprite?"

"Good point."

Unwelcome thoughts entered her head. _When Heath and Roy were arguing earlier, Roy said something about 'no one else gets a chance' or something. What did he mean? It's not like I can only hang out with one person all the time. Maybe I should read his heart later and find out what he's thinking..._

Deep in her musings, Ageha didn't notice they'd reached the tenth floor until Finn pointed out a familiar shape was standing next to the stairs leading to the next floor.

"Ace?" Ageha asked, walking over to him. "What are you doing here?"

He turned to her and smiled. "Hello, Ageha. I'm...mining. What else...do you do in a mine? Why are...you here? Mining...was never your...thing."

Ageha explained everything, including the part about their mother being the hero in the Legend of the Bells. Ace looked surprised, but quickly shook it off.

"So you are going...to the top? I will come with you."

"Thanks, Ace, but I can do it myself."

"No, I wish to go also. I wanted to...go today anyway."

"Okay, thanks."

They traversed the mine in silence for a bit. Then Ageha asked what she'd been dying to ask since the Inn the day before. "So when are you and Dakota going stargazing?"

Even in the darkness of the mine, she could see her brother blushing. He practically glowed. "Tomorrow night..."

"Awwww, that's so cuuuuute!" she cooed, elbowing him playfully.

"Have I told you lately...how much I hate you?"

"No."

"Off topic, but...how is your love life going?"

Ageha's face went hot. "My what? I don't have a love life."

"That is because...you spend too much time...meddling in the love lives of others...to have one for yourself..."

"Oh, what do you know? I had to bully you into asking Dakota on a date! And bribe you with food!"

"We're here..."

And indeed they were. Ace showed her where to exit at the top to get to the Harvest King's throne, and they stepped outside.

"Brr, it's cold," Ageha said, rubbing her bare arms. "No wonder the Harvest King left. Is it, like, permanent winter up here or something?"

"Sort of..." He pointed up a set of very precarious-looking steps. "Up there...is his throne. If you wish to...find him, there may...be clues there."

"Thanks, Ace." She looked up the steps. "Geez, who built that thing? They could have at least put some railings or something. It's a five-hundred-million-gajillion mile drop to certain death if you fall!"

"That's not...a real number. And remembering that the Harvest King...doesn't need to walk?"

"He must be really anti-social. Doesn't like visitors." She drew in a deep breath. "Okay, here we go," she said, carefully shifting her weight onto the first step. When it didn't crumble, she continued with renewed courage. Ace watched her warily, and Finn buzzed along behind her, trying not to distract her. After all, she was Castanet's only hope and all. It wouldn't do to have her fall off a mountain.

After what seemed like forever for all three, she finally reached the throne. Ageha waved at Ace to make sure he knew she was okay, then started searching the barren rock that served as the Harvest King's 'home.'

"Rock, rock, and more rock," she muttered. "Oh, and snow. Cool. This would be a sucky place to live."

"Can we stick to the task at hand, please?"

"Don't rush me, Finn. I can only do so much at a time!" Something sparkly caught her eye. "What's that?" She headed towards it. It was a gorgeous diamond ring. Next to it was a piece of paper folded into the shape of a crane. Something was written on it, and Ageha unfolded it (with some difficulty) and read it aloud.

"To whomever finds this letter," it began. "I am the Harvest King. As you've probably figured out, I am not here. Personal matters dictated that I leave for a brief amount of time. Should my assistance be needed, please ring the five bells again and I'll be there in a flash (no pun intended). Also, this ring can be used to grant one wish to the hero who rings the bells, but only after they have been rung. Ever yours, The Harvest King."

"'Ever yours'? That's not really how I'd imagined a king signing a letter," Ageha muttered, subconsciously twirling the ring between her fingers. She glanced at it. _I'll wear it for now,_ she thought, sliding it on her right ring finger. _Maybe I'll pretend someone gave it to me...maybe Heath...wait, why Heath? Where did that come from? Whatever, I'd better head back or Ace will start worrying._

Sure enough, Ace's voice drifted up from where he was waiting. "Ageha? Are you...alright...up there? Do you need...my assistance?"

"Nope, I'm fine," she called back, heading back to the steps. "I'll be right down!"

She was nearly at the bottom of the steps when her mom's Klutz Gene decided to kick in. She tripped over her own two feet and started to pitch forward.

"Ageha!" Ace screamed, darting forward, but not quite fast enough. Someone else got to her first.


	5. Chapter 4: Reconaissance

**Ed: Helloooo! I'm so sorry for the (quite literal) cliffhanger!  
Ageha: Apologize to me, not them! I'm the one you left hanging in midair for two weeks!  
Ed: I'm sorry, okay? Anyway, this is a longer chapter. It took me a while to write because...*insert excuse here* I really don't have any excuse. I'm sorry.  
Ageha: Whatever. Let's get on with the disclaimer, Ace.  
Ace: Yes, of course. We are the only parts of this story that belong to Miss Ed.  
Ageha: Everything else belongs to Natusme and Marvelous.  
Ed: Damn I wish I owned Wizard...  
Ageha: Shut up, fangirl. On with the story! Please R&R!**

Chapter 4: Reconnaissance

Ageha felt herself falling, and screamed. _I don't want to die, I don't want to die!_ she thought frantically. Her arms flailed, searching for something to catch herself on, but finding nothing.

Suddenly, there were arms there, catching her, not letting her fall. The arms pulled her to solid ground. She was gasping for breath—screaming for her life had taken a lot out of her—and could barely choke back sobs of sheer terror. Through her tearing-up eyes, she glanced up, expecting to see Ace, but instead she saw a very concerned Heath.

"Ageha, are you alright?" he asked. "Nothing's broken, right?" She swallowed and shook her head; he let out a sigh of relief and grabbed her in a hug. "Thank the Goddess...! I thought you were a goner for sure...and who would be my best friend then?"

Ageha couldn't hold it in anymore; she started to bawl into Heath's shoulder, clutching him like a lifeline. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, surprised. "Ageha, are you hurt? What's wrong?" (A/N: Yes, he is an idiot. Like hello, she just about fell to her death here?!)

She just shook her head and buried her face in him. He patted her back and rubbed her dark silver head until she'd calmed down enough to speak. "I-I thought I was g-going to d...d...die..."

"Never! I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Ageha's tear-stained face lifted from his shoulder and looked him in the eye. He was redder than Ace's face that one time she'd slipped curry powder into his coffee. Green eyes met golden ones, and Ageha caught a glimpse of his heart.

"Wh-whoa!" she yelped, her traumatic experience pretty much forgotten. She pushed back from Heath. "U-uh..."

"What now?" Heath asked, confused. She shook her head and didn't answer. "Well, do you want to try standing? I'll help you."

"N-no, I can do it myself," she said, pushing him away and standing shakily.

"Don't be ridiculous; let me help." Despite her protests, Heath lifted her onto his back and started piggybacking her towards the mine's entrance. Ace, forgotten, trailed behind with a small half-smirk on his face.

_Looks like my sister has a love life after all,_ he thought, _even if she hasn't noticed it yet._

Ageha was thinking along the same lines as her brother. _His heart...Heath's in love...with...me?_

Heath carried Ageha all the way to the Choral Clinic, run by Doctor Jin and his son, Doctor Van. Van was another childhood friend of Ageha and Ace's, but like most of their friends, he was the year between Ace and Ageha. Ace was twenty-three, Van was twenty-two, and Ageha was twenty-one.

When they entered the Clinic, Van was there by himself. He looked up from his clipboard and glanced the trio up and down. Instantly assessing the situation, he nodded to the next room. "Pick a bed and set her down," he told them. "I'll be right there." Heath obliged.

"Heath, you can go home, if you want," Ageha told him, her face slightly pink. "I'll be fine here."

"No, I'll wait. That is," he added hastily, "if it's alright with you."

She couldn't speak, and nodded. Ace had to forcibly stop himself from grinning evilly. _Oh, I am going to have __**lots**__ of fun later._

Van arrived and started his examination. He poked and prodded and told her to say 'ah' and when he was done, declared her fit to return to work—but to pull back from doing too much at once.

"Van," Ageha said as they were leaving (she refused Heath's offer to carry her to her farm), "do you know anything about the five bells?"

"From the legend?" Van was very well read; if it was printed, he'd probably read it. "Well, I think there actually was one on the farm my grandparents run. Yellow, I think. Why the sudden interest in the legend?"

"I've always loved the Legend of the Bells," she said defensively. "Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll see you—oh yeah, how's Vivian? I totally forgot to ask." Vivian was another schoolmate of theirs. Van and Vivian had started going out almost two years ago—thanks to Ageha's love advice, of course.

Van gave a small smile at the mention of his girlfriend's name. "She's doing fine. Can you keep a secret?" Ageha nodded eagerly. "I wanted to propose to her—"

Suddenly, Vivian walked in. She was a pretty blonde girl who wore a flower in her hair, a plaid skirt and tie, and a white dress shirt. Her black dress shoes clicked on the floor as she entered and everyone stared at her. "Hi," she said, confused. "What's everyone looking at? Is there something in my teeth?"

"No, we were just leavingཀྵ" Ageha said, a twinkle in her eye as she dragged her companions out. "See you later, Van, Vivian!"

"Aww, I wanted to waaaatch!" Finn whined.

"No," she hissed. "That would be rude." She turned to Ace and Heath. "Thanks for taking me to the clinic," she mumbled, refusing to meet Heath's eyes. "I'm going to go visit Mom and Dad now." _And maybe Dad can tell me how I managed to read Heath's heart without my mirror,_ she thought. While Gale used a crystal ball to tell fortunes, Ageha used a small, handheld mirror. The person's heart was reflected in it.

Ace nodded once and left without a goodbye, as was often customary with the anti-social miner. Heath, on the other hand, gave her a hug and a "See ya later, hero!སྟ" and skipped off, probably to blab about Ageha's mission to the whole town.

Ageha knocked before entering her parents' house, but let herself in without waiting for a reply anyways. Hikari was reading and Gale was staring intently at his crystal ball. "Hi, Mom; hi Dad," she said, by way of greeting as she closed the door behind her.

Hikari looked up from her book and beamed at her daughter. "Hi, honey!" she chirped, standing and crossing to Ageha to give her a hug. "How's it going? Any problems?"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were the hero in the Legend of the Bells?"

Hikari froze. "Ah. I wondered if that would ever come up." Hikari released Ageha and began pacing. "I asked people to keep it quiet, because, well...it's kind of embarrassing. I didn't want you and Ace to think I was...well, weird." She noticed a certain orange Harvest Sprite hovering next to Ageha's head. "Finn!" she gasped. "You...you're back!" Then she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"It's okay, Mom, I can see them too."

Hikari relaxed. "Oh, good. Finn, how have you been?"

As the two old friends caught up, Ageha walked over to Gale, who was still watching the ball on the table. "Hi, Dad."

He looked up at her. "Hello...Ageha. How is everything...on the farm?"

"Dad, I read Heath's heart today." Gale raised an eyebrow. "And...I did it without a scrying device."

The wizard frowned. "That's strange...I've never heard of this happening before..." He glanced at her left hand, saw the ring, and raised the other eyebrow. "Heath's heart...must have said much."

Ageha mentally kicked herself as she felt herself flush bright red. "N-no! This isn't from Heath!" She told him (and Hikari, who had joined them by this point) about the Harvest Goddess's request that she ring the bells, and the incident on the mountaintop. "So I really don't know what's going on. Usually I need my mirror to read hearts."

"The ring...may I see it?" Ageha removed the ring and gave it to her father, who studied it. "I see...I believe this is a device that can...amplify the powers of someone...who knows magic. That must have been...what caused it." He handed it back to her. "If you do not wish for this to happen again, you must either not wear it or master its powers."

Ageha nodded once definitively. "I'll master it. It's such a waste not to wear something so pretty." She hugged her parents and thanked them, then left.

"Well, that explains a lot," Ageha muttered as she and Finn headed for Symphony Ranch. "But why would Mom care if someone thought she was weird?"

"For one thing, you're her children, remember?" Finn said. "She wouldn't want you to think bad things about her. For another, she may not seem like it, but Hikari's not a very...secure person."

"Are you saying my mom's nuts?"

"No, just that her self-esteem tank sometimes runs on empty."

"She married a _wizard_. Why would someone who marries a magical being care what others think?"

"I don't know. But Hikari is Hikari, and you are you. Now, can we go to the farm and find that bell?"

"Finn, you were with my mom when she rung all the bells, right? Don't you know where they are?"

"Yes, but we should at least make sure the bell's still there. It was rare for us to find the bell in its right place when Hikari rung them. Then we had to meet special requirements, and—"

"Okay, I get it. I'm waiting until tomorrow, though; it's getting late."

"It's only six!" protested Finn.

"It's been a long day, Finn," Ageha sighed as she rang the bell to make the animals go inside. "There, I rang a yellow bell. Happy?"

"Ageeeeeeehaaaaaaaa!"

"Look, I'll get on it tomorrow."

Finn sighed. "Oh, okay. Besides, Collin doesn't like ringing his bell unless it's sunny, and now it's night time, so..."

"Exactly. Besides, we already rang one bell today. That should be enough for now, right?"

The Harvest Goddess stepped over the small U-shaped pond that separated the Goddess Tree from everything else. "Alan," she whispered to the red sprite in her arms. "Look."

While the ground around the tree was practically carpeted in twigs, the tree itself looked healthier than it had a few days ago. "It's working."

Ageha woke to a knock at the door. "Coming," she mumbled, getting out of bed and stumbling to the door, not bothering to get dressed.

Heath was standing there, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She moaned. "Go home, Heath; I'm not in the mood for this."

"But I thought you might want some help!" Heath said cheerfully.

"Rrg. Fine, come on in." Ageha sat him at the kitchen table and went into the next room to change. _There is no way I'm changing in front of a guy, especially one who likes me!_

After she finished, she came back out to see Heath working away in the kitchen. "Gah! Heath, get out of there!" she cried, rushing over and shooing him away. From what she remembered of their Home Ec. classes together, Heath could find a way to burn cold cereal.

"But I made boxed lunches!" he protested.

She looked, and for once, what he'd made actually looked edible. "Wow, when did you learn to cook?"

"Mom taught me. She said that eventually, I'll need to learn for myself. I don't see why, since I can always go to the Inn, but it's good to know anyway."

Ageha's mind flashed back to when she was a little girl, and her father would always make Hikari's lunch before she left for the day. _Heath's acting like my husband...or my dad,_ she reminded herself. _Just because he likes you doesn't mean you like him!_

"Well, let's get going," she said hastily, grabbing the lunches and shoving them in her rucksack. "Actually, I still have to take care of the animals and crops and stuff, so you can wait here."

"I can help! I'll do weeding and stuff."

Then there was another knock on the door. Heath, who was next to the door, answered it. "Oh," he said glumly, letting Roy in. "It's you."

"Don't sound so disappointed. Hi, Roy."

"Hi, Ageha. So, what are you doing today?"

"Trying to ring the Yellow Bell."

"Can I help?"

Ageha sighed. "You're going to come even if I say no, aren't you?"

"Probably."

"Fine. You can come."

"Noooo, don't let hiiiim!" Heath whined.

"Would you knock it off? You two are worse than Abbott and Costello!" (A/N: if you don't know who they are, shame on you! Look up 'Who's On First?' on YouTube.) "Why do you argue all the time? You were best friends for, like, ever, and all of a sudden you can't stand to be in the same room with each other. What's going on?" She glared at both of them, and accidentally caught Roy's eye. "Gwah!" she yelped, stumbling backwards. "Dammit, I've got to stop doing that!"

"Doing what?" they chorused.

Ageha sighed. _Dammit, I've read Roy's heart now. And he likes me too. Well, that explains a lot._

"Okay, boys, out. I'm getting started on my chores, then we can go look for the bell," she said, pushing past them and hoping her face wasn't too red. "If you're coming, come. If not, go home."

Needless to say, the two young men gave her a hand with her chores, because neither wanted to back down from the unspoken contest between them for Ageha's affections.

_I'll be the one who wins her over first!_ Heath thought to himself as he weeded as fast as he could.

_There's no way I'm losing to that adventurer!_ thought Roy as he picked vegetables for shipping.

"Heath, Roy, what are you doing?!" Ageha yelped when she returned from taking care of her animals. "Heath, you're leaving the roots of the weeds in the ground. They'll just grow back if you do it that way. And Roy, if you handle the produce too roughly, it'll bruise."

Both men looked at the ground and mumbled apologies.

"Fine, but don't do it again. Now, let's get going."

The trip to Flute Fields was a short one, but it felt longer because of the awkward and angry silence. Ageha was the only one who felt awkward, because she knew how both of them felt about her. Roy and Heath, on the other hand, spent the entire trip glaring daggers at each other. By the time they got to Marimba Farm, Ageha was ready to snap at them because she was fed up with their glaring. She didn't get to, though, because when they got to the place where the Yellow Bell was supposed to be, Finn started to freak out.

"It's not here!" he yelled, flying in crazy circles around Ageha's head. "Where's Collin?! Cooooolliiiiiin!"

"Knock it off," Ageha hissed.

"Isn't the bell supposed to be here?" Roy asked, examining the pedestal.

Ageha sighed. "Yeah, but for some reason it's not. I wonder where it went?"

"Maybe Ruth knows something," suggested Heath. "Let's go ask!" He grabbed Ageha's arm and pulled her away. Roy had to run to catch up.

"Wait a second, Heath!" Ageha said, blushing as she stumbled along behind him. "It's Wednesday!"

Heath stopped. "So?"

"So all the shops in the Flute Fields district are closed on Wednesdays," Roy reminded him. "Duh."

"Don't 'duh' me!" Heath snapped. "I'd have figured it out...eventually!"

"Harvest Goddess, you're dumb," Roy muttered.

"Hey, you wanna fight, big-shot?"

"Guys, will you knock it off? Here comes Ruth!"

Ruth was the old lady who ran Marimba Farm. She had a sharp haircut, sharp features, and dressed like she was from the 1920's. She glanced them all over. "I heard shouting, so I wondered if anything was the matter."

"Oh, no, Miss Ruth," Ageha said. She stepped between the feuding males. "Roy and Heath were just leaving. Right, guys?" she said sweetly, giving them her patented "get-out-of-here-right-_now_-or-else" glare. They scarpered. "Fight nice on the way back!" she called after them. "Men," she sighed, disgusted.

Ruth laughed. "I know what you mean. Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Yellow Bell. Isn't it supposed to be over there?" She pointed in the general direction of the pedestal.

"Yes, it is...but it mysteriously disappeared a few days ago." Ruth brought her hand to her chin in a contemplative pose. "I asked my husband about it, but he doesn't know where it went, either. We really need it back soon, too."

"Why's that?"

"Well, as a farmer yourself, I'm sure you've noticed the quality of the soil."

Ageha had noticed that she'd needed to use more fertilizer lately, but she'd thought nothing of it.

"Also, the crops die quicker...it's like there are no nutrients for them to absorb from the earth." Ruth sighed. "That's why we need it back so badly: without it, crops are withering and dying, and we can hardly support the farm."

"Do you have any idea where it might have gone?" Ageha asked. _This is really worrying,_ she thought. _I mean, I knew that the bells were linked to the elements, but not this much! I'd better find it fast!_

"No, I'm sorry...maybe you should ask my grandson. He might know."

"Thanks, Miss Ruth. I'll see you later!" And she took off again in the direction of town.

* * *

**Ed: There it is! How'd you like it?  
Roy: I'm barely in it! No fair!  
Ed: *sticks out tongue* Deal with it!  
Ace: I like the use of the eyebrow-raise with Dad...  
Ed: Wizard: he has the Spock Eyebrow down to a science! Anyway, the next chapter probably won't be up until sometime next week. Please bear with me! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 5: The Yellow Bell of Earth

**Ed: Okay, so at the end of the last chapter I said the next chapter wouldn't be up until next week...well, I lied.  
Ageha: Goddess, you need to get your priorities straight.  
Ed: I have no life, okay?! Anyway, this is the next chapter!  
Ace: Miss Ed doesn't own Harvest Moon. However, Ageha and I belong to her.  
Ed: Yes, Ace, you're all mine! Bwa-ha-ha!  
Everyone else: O.o  
Ed: Just kidding. Please review; reviews make the world go round!**

Chapter 5: The Yellow Bell of Earth

"Hurry, Ageha!" urged Finn. "Who knows what's happened to Collin?"

"I'm sure he's fine, Finn." But she sped up anyway, arriving at the Choral Clinic exhausted.

Doctor Jin glanced at her and raised an eyebrow as she stumbled in, gasping for breath. "Someone needs to be taking better care of her health."

She glared at him. Friend's father he may be, but he really got under her skin for some reason. "FYI," she panted, "I just ran all the way here from Flute Fields. I have a perfect right to be exhausted."

Jin's eyebrow expression changed from sceptical to interested. "Impressive. Is there a problem?"

"I need to talk to Van. Is he here?"

"I just sent him on an errand to the Town Hall. You'll probably find him there."

"Thanks, Doc." Ageha took off again.

Jin shook his head. _That girl is so...she's just like her mother. Not that that's a bad thing, of course, but...she's definitely different._

_

* * *

_

"Van, the bell's gone!" Ageha cried, bursting into the Town Hall. Then she stopped dead in her tracks. Van and Vivian immediately sprang apart, their make-out session evidently over after such a rude interruption. Their faces were bright red, and so were Ageha's and Finn's. "I-I'm so sorry! I'll leave," she stammered, turning and bolting out the door.

"Aaaaaaug!" she screamed at the sky when she was a safe distance away from the Town Hall—that is to say, by the ocean. "I can't _believe_ I just walked in on that!"

"Walked in on what?"

Ageha turned to see Matt, the son of Toby and Renee and Ace's best friend, standing behind her. He was six foot three, with short, light brown hair covered by a sea captain's hat. After Pascal, the captain of the Island Ferry, had died a few years back, Matt had been quick to jump at the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of being a boat captain.

"Hi, Matt," she mumbled gloomily. "I just walked in on two people with their tongues down each other's throats."

"That sounds uncomfortable. Did you have to separate them?"

Ageha stared. _Boy, how naive can you get?_ "Uh, no, Matt, that means that they were so...into it, they were...never mind; I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine by me. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Have you noticed that the water level is seriously dropping?"

Ageha blinked. _What a random question._ "Uh, I don't spend a lot of time near water, so no, I haven't noticed..."

"Well, it is. If this keeps going, I won't be able to ferry people to Toucan Island anymore! Poor Sue and Samson...they'd get so lonely without their weekly visits from their daughter." Sue and Samson were the only inhabitants of the little island, and their daughter Selena had moved to Castanet around the age of twenty. A few years later, she'd married Luke, the carpenter, and they'd had a feisty little girl named Lucy—Ageha's best friend. Every Thursday morning, the whole family would take the boat to the island to visit Lucy's grandparents.

_Water levels...I wonder if that has anything to do with the Goddess Tree withering?_ Ageha thought.

"Matt! Ageha! Hi!"

The two turned to see Matt's girlfriend, Angie, waving from the other end of the dock. She was an adorable little girl who was learning the delicate arts of fashion design and accessory crafting from her parents, Candace and Julius. Her bluish-purple bob haircut bounced behind her as she ran towards them, holding a fishing rod with the hand that wasn't waving madly.

"Hi, Angie," Matt said cutely. "You ready?"

"Of course!" she giggled. At a confused look from Ageha, Angie explained, "Matt and I are going fishing!"

"See you later, Ageha!" Matt said, and they walked off.

Ageha waved as she watched them head towards the beach. "Finn," she said, "you don't suppose that—"

"I'm sure of it! The Blue Bell has to be rung quickly or the water supply will eventually run out!"

"Ooh, that's not good."

"No, it's not. In fact, it's bad!"

"No, really?" Ageha said sarcastically. "Well, one thing at a time. Let's find the Yellow Bell before we start freaking out about too many things at once here."

She had started walking as she said this, and was coming up on the Brass Bar. Kathy, who helped her dad Hayden run the bar, gave her a funny look and Ageha had to remind herself that few people could see Finn. She was just lucky.

Although 'lucky' wasn't really the word Ageha would use to describe it. She mused about what had happened since Finn had woken her up at three only the day before.

_Well, I've been given a near-impossible task, and I've learned about a world of Goddesses and Sprites that I never knew existed till now. I've gotten a sweet new ring, I've returned fire to Castanet so now people can cook again—good thing, too, because I was getting really tired of sashimi and sandwiches—and I've learned that two boys like me. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad._

"Ageha?"

"Go away, Roy."

"But—"

"You too, Heath. Look, guys, I'm not in a great mood right now. Can you please just leave me alone for a little while? I need to sort some things out."

Roy nodded and started to walk away. Heath stuck his face so he could look up into her downturned countenance. "Are you okay?"

"No, Heath, I'm not."

"Do you need me to carry you to the Clinic again?"

"Goddess no!" She sighed. "Sorry, Heath, I'm just...I don't know."

"Did you find out anything about the Yellow Bell?"

"No. And I'm not doing any more finding out today. I'm going home. Now leave me alone."

Heath and Roy looked at her and saw that she looked dead on her feet. Something was weighing on her shoulders, and while they both wanted to help lift that weight, they also both knew better than to try and do something when Ageha had made up her mind.

As he watched her trudge away, something dawned on Roy, and he turned to his rival. "Hey, Heath...you don't suppose she...knows, do you?"

Heath shook his head. "No way! That's impossible...right?"

"She can read hearts, Heath. And she doesn't exactly keep quiet about the fact that she can. This could be a problem."

"No, it's a good thing. It means we can skip the whole awkward 'I really like you' part. And she knows that I love her more."

"Nuh-uh! I like her more!"

And they squabbled until Hamilton had to break them up. (He can be damn scary when he wants to be.)

* * *

Ageha picked at her Grilled Catfish, pushing the meat around the plate until it got cold. Then she dumped it in the garbage and started kicking things. "Stop it, Ageha!" Finn yowled, buzzing around her head as she aimed another kick at her bookshelf. "This isn't constructive!"

"Sure it is. I feel one hell of a lot better."

"Maybe you should go to bed."

Begrudgingly, she climbed into bed and turned out the light. But she didn't sleep. When she slept, she dreamt that Heath and Roy had turned into horrible monsters and were chasing her around Castanet, demanding that she choose one of them. Loud, angry bells clanged somewhere in the background, and her body got heavier with every step. Ageha woke up in a cold sweat and not one bit more alert. She stumbled to the kitchen and drank as much herbal tea and hot coffee that she could make to keep her awake and away from that dream. Finn worried, but for once he didn't say anything.

Ageha felt like someone had stomped on her face with baseball shoes the next morning, but she went about her chores like usual. It was as though her animals could sense something was wrong, because they were unusually compliant when she milked them or took their eggs. Even Cranky, the apply-named sheep, was quiet while she sheared her. Finn hovered around her, watching, worrying, and urging her to visit the Harvest Goddess. But the deity was the last person that Ageha wanted to face right now. She needed to talk to someone who understood how she felt—miserable.

So she phoned up Lucy.

* * *

"Believe me, Ageha, it's no secret that men are complete idiots when it comes to their feelings," Lucy told her as she made her friend more tea. "And they're even stupider when it comes to women's feelings."

"I know that. I've lived with Ace, remember?" Ageha joked half-heartedly.

"True that."

"What should I do, Lucy? I'm...I'm scared."

Lucy hugged the silver-haired young woman next to her. "It's okay. It's only natural to be scared. I remember when I first found out that Roy had that crush on me years ago, I was so freaked out I avoided him for weeks. But it all turned out all right."

"As I recall, you told him that you weren't interested in dating."

"And that's exactly what you need to tell them. At least until you sort out how you feel."

"How do I do that?"

Lucy propped her chin on her fist. "Therein lies the hard part. You have to figure that out for yourself; it's different for everyone. But shouldn't your first priority be those bells?"

Ageha groaned. "Right, the bells. I really should get on that. You haven't seen a yellow bell lying around anywhere, have you?" she asked, half-joking.

To her surprise, Lucy looked contemplative. "Yellow? I think I saw one by the lighthouse a few days ago."

Ageha jumped up, her troubles all but forgotten. "Let's go, then! The faster I ring these bells, the faster all the problems will be solved! The Harvest Goddess's, the land's, mine! Come on, Lucy; time's a-wasting!" She bolted out the door and her best friend followed, shaking her purple head in amusement.

* * *

Paolo, a young man about seven years older than Ageha, was inspecting the bell when the girls came upon him. "Hi, girls," he said, smiling. Paolo was a very smiley guy. "Where'd this bell come from? There's a blue one in the Watery Cave, but this one is yellow..."

"It belongs in the Flute Fields," Ageha explained, hefting the large bell up. "Boy, this is heavy." Suddenly it disappeared and a small yellow Harvest Sprite appeared in its place.

"Whoa, where'd it go?" Paolo and Lucy chorused, staring at Ageha's seemingly empty hands.

"Collin!" Finn chirped, spinning in circles. "You're back! How did you get here?"

"I dunno..." Collin said, dazed. "One minute, I'm waiting at the farm...the next, I'm suddenly here."

"Well, this is certainly the last place anyone would think of to look for the Bell of Earth," Finn muttered, looking around at the water surrounding the lighthouse's little island. "But why would someone want to move the bells?" He turned to Ageha. "We might have a problem...it looks like someone doesn't want the bells rung!"

Ageha gulped. _One crisis at a time,_ she reminded herself. "Do you think you can ring your bell?" she whispered, glancing over her shoulder, fearful that her companions would hear her. But they were busy searching for where the bell 'disappeared' to.

"Get me to the pedestal and consider it done!" The little yellow sprite disappeared and the bell took his place.

"Hey, the bell's back!" Lucy said loudly (as was usual with Lucy). "Awesome!"

"Come on, Lucy, let's go to the fields," Ageha said, dragging the heavy bell with her. "See you later, Paolo!"

"Ageha, wait a second!" Ageha turned. Paolo grinned at her. "I just wanted to thank you again for setting me up with Chloe. She's..." He sighed; words couldn't express Chloe.

"Don't worry about it," the rancher said. "I just thought you two would work together, you know? See ya."

Lucy helped Ageha carry the huge bell through town to the fields. After hanging it on its pedestal, Ageha glanced at the sky. "Crud."

"What?"

"It's cloudy."

"So?"

"So I can't ring bells if the sun's not out." Ageha sighed and stretched. "Oh, well, tomorrow's supposed to be sunny, so I'll do it then. Besides, it's getting late."

"Ageha, it's four in the afternoon."

"I didn't sleep well."

Lucy looked concerned at her friend as they started to leave the small clearing. "Do you want to go to the clinic? Van could maybe prescribe something to help."

"Oh, no. Van is the _last_ person I want to talk to." Ageha told Lucy about what had happened the day before at the Town Hall and she busted up laughing. "It's not funny! Have you ever walked in on someone eating someone else's face?" That just made Lucy laugh harder. "Stop laughing! It was the most embarrassing moment of my life!"

Lucy wiped away tears of laughter. "Sorry, sorry. That must have been awkward, but...just the thought of _Van_ and _Vivian_ making out. They're, like, the most uptight people ever! Where was Grandpa Hamilton during this little episode? Or Papa Gill?"

"I don't know, but I really don't think they should be left alone for any length of time."

"I totally understand your not wanting to go to the clinic, after that little episode, but you really should if you find you still can't sleep. Promise me, okay?"

Ageha promised, but her fingers were crossed behind her back.

* * *

Ageha had another nightmare. This time, she was clinging to a crumbling cliff edge (_I am so tired of cliffs,_ she thought), and Roy and Heath were arguing over who got to save her. Finally, she couldn't hang on anymore, and she tumbled...

_Whump!_

Her face met with the floor. She moaned and pushed herself up groggily. Pulling herself back into bed, she glanced at the glowing hands of the clock on the table next to her bed. _Oh, well, it's time to get up anyway,_ she thought woozily, pushing back the covers and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"Ageha, are you okay?" Finn asked as she stumbled towards her dresser.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"Do you want to stay in bed today? I can take care of the farm!"

Ageha almost laughed at that. Almost. "No, I'm fine. I'll finish work quickly and get going."

Finn made a mental note to report this to the Harvest Goddess. _Ageha needs help,_ he thought,_ and I'll be damned if I don't make sure she gets it!_

_

* * *

_

"Oh, Bell of Earth! Play your melody! Let it ring across the land! Make the land bountiful once again!"

Ageha had to prop herself on a fencepost to keep upright, but she'd made it to the Yellow Bell's pedestal. Collin was in the process of ringing his bell, and a pretty song emanated from it. Collin thanked Ageha for putting the bell back in its rightful place, then disappeared to be with the Harvest Goddess. As she was leaving, she was suddenly accosted by Roy.

"Ageha, you just rang the Yellow Bell, right?"

She didn't bother stifling her yawn. "Yeah, I did."

Roy put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You look like it took a lot out of you."

The farmer looked up at him and saw genuine concern in his eyes—and his heart. "Don't worry about me, Roy. I'll be..." Suddenly she slumped to the ground and everything went dark, and the last thing she heard was Roy calling her name.

* * *

**Ed: Okay, the next chapter really won't be up until next week.  
Ageha: Damn you and your stupid cliffhangers!  
Ed: But-but-but cliffhangers are awesome!  
Ace:...Stop arguing with your imaginary friends, Miss Ed...  
Ed: Whatever. See you next week!**


	7. Chapter 6: Sick

**Ed: I'm soooo sorry that this took so long! I've actually had it written since Friday, and now it's Wednesday...  
Ace: I'm sure they'll forgive you, Miss Ed...  
Ed: *sniffle* Stupid internet deciding to be evil and not let me navigate away from my homepage...! But anyway, this is the sixth chapter. Thank you for reading it so far.  
Ageha: Disclaimer time! Ed doesn't own HM or anything else. She does kind of own me and Ace, though.  
Ed: Thanks, Ageha. Now, please enjoy Chapter 6: Sick! Reviews make my world go round...and constructive criticism restores the balance!**

Chapter 6: Sick

"It's a good thing you were there, Roy," Van said, closing the curtain behind him as he left Ageha's bedside. "She's running a fever of 100 and rising. She's obviously fatigued, and I think she's catching a cold. Nothing a few days of bed rest and some medicine can't fix."

Roy had stopped pacing when the doctor had started talking, but he started pacing again right after he was finished. "What could have made her so sick?" Heath asked from his seated position behind the blacksmith. Roy was tempted to tell his rival to shut up, but he didn't, because he wanted to know as well.

"Lucy told me she hasn't been getting enough sleep lately, and I think that she's been pushing herself too hard. It seemed like her normal work, but for her tired body..." He shook his head. "It was just that much too much. The walk out to Flute Fields probably triggered the actual collapse. Also, I think something's been plaguing her mind. This might contribute to the loss of sleep." Van looked pointedly at both young men. "Look, I know we're friends and all, but I speak on a purely professional level when I say that your feelings for Ageha are probably the trigger for the entire problem. Knowing Ageha, I'm sure she already knows how you feel and is trying to figure everything out on her own. You need to support her in this tough time by leaving her alone for a while unless she specifically asks to see you. Got it?" Both Garmon Mine residents nodded gloomily. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see about some medication for Ageha." And he disappeared into the back room.

Heath and Roy were silent for a bit. Then Heath said, "So...how long have you liked her?"

Roy snapped back to reality and glanced at Heath. "What?"

"Well, last I remember you liked Lucy. When did that change?"

"I liked Lucy when I was ten, Heath," Roy replied, annoyed. "It was a silly childhood crush. Nothing more."

"Really? Because I think she likes you."

Roy blushed darkly. "You're just saying that to distract me so you can move in on Ageha! Well, it won't work!"

"That's not it, Roy. I really do think she likes you. Ageha's not the only one with epic matchmaking skills."

"Yeah, but hers are enhanced by magic. Look, can you drop it? I'm not interested in Lucy, even if she's interested in me."

They were silent for a bit, and Roy continued pacing. Then he broke the silence. "Has anyone contacted her parents? Knowing Hikari, she'll be worried sick."

"I think Jin did," Heath said slowly. "I heard him mention to Van about getting her to take over the farm again for a little while, at least until Ageha can get back on her feet. What worries me is..." He paused, chewing his lip, deep in thought. "How long will that be?"

Suddenly there was a low moan from behind Ageha's curtain. Both Heath and Roy rushed in to see what was the matter. Ageha had woken up, and she blinked up at them groggily. "Guys...what are you doing here? Where am I?" She tried to sit up, but both men quickly made her lie down again.

"You collapsed," Roy explained. "You've been working too hard lately, and it finally caught up to you. I carried you to the Clinic, and Van said you'll have to stay here for a little while. Don't worry, your mom will take care of the farm."

"Oh, man. I'm sorry to be such a burden."

"It's okay. No one minds. You deserve to relax a little."

Heath had been silent while the other two talked. Now, he said, "Hey, Ageha, has anything been bothering you lately? Like...us?"

She sighed. "Well, I must say, you two are _really_ annoying."

"That's not what I meant," he snapped, turning her head so she had to look at him. "I mean...you know how we feel, don't you?" Blushing wordlessly, she nodded. "And...is that why you've been losing sleep?" She nodded again and he released her.

"Geez," Roy muttered, running a hand through his already-messy rusty hair. "I can't believe that it's because of us..."

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

"You have nothing to apologize for!" they chorused, removing the covers. She squeaked and sat up a bit.

"It's our fault," Heath sighed. "I mean...we've been kind of forcing our feelings on you."

"You don't have to choose one of us," Roy added. "It'd be great if you did, but if you like someone else or just aren't interested in dating, we'll understand."

"We can't make you change your mind, so we'll deal," Heath said. "But for Goddess's sake, never, ever, make us worry again."

They both hugged her, and she hugged them back. "Guys, it's okay. I'm sorry for not telling you I knew. I don't really know how I feel...so for now, let's just stay friends. That means no fighting, you two."

"Awww, I like fighting with Roy!"

"Even though you always lose?"

"You shut up!"

Ageha giggled. _Looks like things are back to normal...or close enough,_ she thought as she watched them squabble.

"Ageha!"

Finn tackled her shoulder and sobbed. "You're okay! Thank the Goddess!"

"Where were you?" she whispered.

"I was with the Goddess, asking her to help you. Since you've rung two bells, her power is slowly returning. Your fever should be down a bit now."

"Ageha!"

Her parents ran in and Hikari hugged her daughter. "Baby...! Are you alright? I was so worried...!"

"I'm fine, Mom. Don't worry about me."

Gale smiled at her. "I'm glad...you're alright...I saw you had collapsed, but not where, so I worried."

"How many times do I have to tell you people not to worry about me?" asked Ageha jokingly.

"And how many times do we have to tell _you_ that we'll always worry?" Hikari retorted, giving her daughter a tap on the forehead. "We love you, so of course we'll worry."

"I second that," Heath added.

"No fair! I was going to second that."

Heath stuck his tongue out at Roy. "Too late!"

"What did I say about arguing?"

"Sorry."

When Van returned, he had to fight his way through the mob of people surrounding the smiling Ageha. A few days later, she was declared fit for duty and she practically bounded out of the Clinic.

"Two bells down, three to go. Come on, Finn, time's a-wasting!"


	8. Chapter 7: The Blue Bell of Water

**Ed: And here we are again.  
Ageha: Wow, that was a fast update.  
Ed: Well, I have up to about...Chapter 10 or something done right now, so I'll be putting them up one per day (except weekends) for a bit.  
Ace: Shouldn't you be working on other things like schoolwork...?  
Ed: Yeah, but this is more fun. Disclaimer! I don't own HM, but Ace and Ageha are mine. Please enjoy chapter 7, and please review! I beg of you!**

Chapter 7: The Blue Bell of Water

"I can't believe this. Where's that stupid bell?!"

Ageha was stomping through the Watery Cave. Paolo had told her that the pedestal was in the Cave, but that on his most recent trip down, he'd found the actual bell on one of the floors. Now, Ageha was searching for it, because Paolo hadn't thought anything about it when he'd seen it and couldn't remember what floor it had been on. So far, Ageha had gone down twenty-seven floors. No soap.

"I've found two pearls, a black pearl, some ores, about ten Wonderfuls, and tons of mushrooms of every variety. Who would come all the way down here just to leave a bell?"

"I don't know, for the six hundred and eighty-seventh time!" Finn snapped back. Three hours of no results were starting to get on both their nerves. "But Paolo said it was in here somewhere, so we have to find it. Think of the poor fish with nowhere to go!"

"Actually," Ageha confessed as she descended yet another set of stairs, "I'm more worried about Sue and Samson. Sue will get so depressed without Selena, and while Samson will probably be okay emotionally...the Pineapple Inn will probably have seen better days."

"Well, think of them then. Think of whatever; just keep going!"

Twenty floors, eighty mushrooms, six Wonderfuls and nine ores later, Ageha was still bell-less. "Whoever moved the bell didn't do it recently," she muttered, glancing at her glow-in-the-dark watch. "It must have taken hours to get down and then out." She sat down on one of the rocks. "I'm tired; let's take a rest."

"You have any food?"

"No, but I'm starting to think I should have brought some. Wait, I have some mushrooms and my matches." She dug through her rucksack for said items.

"I thought you hated mushrooms."

"I do; they're the nastiest things ever, but they're better than nothing." Her stomach, which had been protesting audibly for the past hour, was practically screaming at her as she stuck one of the brown fungi on a convenient stick and grilled it over the open flame. "Oh, shut up," she told it. "I'm not in the mood."

They were quiet for a bit while Ageha ate. Then Finn spoke up as Ageha was grilling a second mushroom. "Ageha," he said thoughtfully, "why do you think someone would want to stop you from ringing the bells?"

"You think that's it?" Finn nodded. "I don't know. Does anyone hate the Harvest Goddess?"

"Not that I know of. And trust me, I'd know."

"Hmm. Well, I can think of a couple of people who don't like me...Gill, for example. I'm sure he doesn't like me."

"Why?"

"I don't know, he just doesn't. I don't think he likes many people, actually."

"Ha, you don't know the half of it. He could be so rude to Hikari when she was ringing the bells...! He got mad when she rang the Green Bell because he wanted to have rung it."

"Seriously...? That's sad."

"I know. The weird think is, I think he has some kind of sixth sense, because whenever I see him, it's almost like he can see me."

"Weird..."

"Tell me about it. Anyone else?"

"No...well, Perry doesn't like me. That priest? He doesn't like me because I started crying during one of his church sermons years ago."

"Somehow, I don't think Perry's the type to hide a bell this far down. Are you done eating yet? We have to find that bell fast; it's getting late."

Ageha doused the fire and stretched. "Sure. Let's get going...hey, wait a minute, what's that?"

She walked over to the wall. Embedded in it was a large blue bell.

"That's it!" Finn sang, spinning in circles. "That's the Blue Bell! But...how'd it get stuck in the wall?"

"Let's find out," Ageha said, reaching for the bell, intending to speak to the Sprite she knew it would become. But as soon as her fingers touched it, she was enveloped in a vision:

_It was dark and wet. She didn't like it here, but she knew that little brat would never find it here. The sliver-haired woman placed the bell on the hole in the wall and pushed. It slid in about halfway, then stopped, stuck. She stamped her foot, irritated, but that was as far as it would go. She sighed, confident the girl would never find it anyway, and disappeared..._

"Ageha? Aghea!"

The farmer snapped back to reality. "What just—"

"You've got the bell. What's wrong?"

She gaped at the large bell in her hands. "How did I get that out?"

"I dunno. You mumbled something and it fell out. Are you okay?" Ageha described what she'd seen and he frowned. "That awful Witch! I should have figured it out from the start!"

"Whoa, this is no time for name-calling!" She glanced down at her ring. _I wonder if the ring's power triggered that little episode. I'd better master it fast if I don't want it to keep taking over like that!_

"No, that's her name. The Witch Princess, actually. She's an awful prankster."

"But why would she want to stop me from ringing the bells? I've never even met her!"

"We can find that out later. For now, we need to get Ben to ring his bell."

As the orange Sprite spoke, the bell in her hands transformed into a sprite that looked suspiciously like Finn, only blue. "Hi!" he said cheerily. "I'm Ben, the Sprite of Water! Pleased to meet you!"

"Likewise. Look, can you stay in Sprite form for a while? I am not carrying that heavy bell up forty-seven flights of stairs."

He nodded and they set out for the top floor.

By the time they got there, it was dark out. Ageha told Ben she'd be back the next sunny day and left, exhausted from her excursion.

_I just want to dump my stuff in the shipping bin and go to bed, _she thought, yawning. Then she caught a glimpse of the Brass Bar out of the corner of her eye and decided she could use a break.

Roy was leaving just as she was entering. "Hi, Ageha!" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here at this time of night?"

"I need to unwind. I just spent the whole day in the Watery Cave looking for that stupid Blue Bell. I was thinking a cocktail sounded really good right about now."

"I'll join you, then!" Roy sang, accompanying her to the counter.

"Go home, Roy," Hayden said, rolling his eyes. "You've probably had one...or five...too many."

Ageha glared at Roy. "Roy, you little...!"

He grinned sheepishly. "No worries!"

"Yes, worries. I'll have a Raspberry Cocktail, please, Hayden, then I'll take this idiot home." Now that she looked closer, she could see that Roy was definitely having trouble keeping his balance and his speech was slightly slurred. "On second thought, hold the cocktail. I'll just take Stupid here home."

Roy laughed his big, booming laugh, causing everyone to look at him funny. "Stupid...! That's funny."

"Whatever, Roy. Just follow me." After he tripped over nothing a couple of times, she said, "Never mind; lean on me so we can get home faster." Roy was all too happy to oblige.

As they neared the mine cart to the Garmon Mines, Roy said something that was actually comprehensible for a change. "Hey, Ageha," he muttered, "who do you like better; me or Heath?"

Caught off guard by the question, Ageha blushed and flustered. "I-I...I thought we'd dropped this conversation!"

"Well, I want to pick it up again. Who?"

"I...I...well, I like you both as friends. I still haven't sorted out how I feel yet."

"Why not?"

"It's harder than you think, okay?!"

"Not for me it wasn't..." Suddenly, he leaned in and kissed Ageha. He tasted like coconuts.

Ageha hated coconuts.

"NO!" she yelled, shoving him away. In his drunken state, he stumbled backwards and fell on his butt next to the mine cart. She used the back of her hand to rub at her lips, as though that would erase what had happened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "I-I...I don't want..."

Roy stood up with help from a nearby rock and hung his head. "I'm sorry."

The ring on her finger glowed, and she raised her left hand. "Don't apologize, just go home!" Roy yelped as he was lifted into the air and dumped, hard, into the cart, which started moving on its own. Once he was gone, Ageha burst into tears and sank to the ground.

Finn circled her worriedly. "A-Ageha?" She sniffled and looked up at him. He sighed, depressed. "I wish I could say something profound here...I'm sure someone like Ben or Alan would be able to think of something good. But I can only say this. Please forgive Roy for what he did! He didn't mean to, I'm sure of it. Roy's not that kind of guy..."

"I know he didn't mean to," the farmer choked out. "But that just makes it worse. He...he stole my first kiss...I don't know if I can forgive that." When she stood up, she was full of purpose. "Well, I guess this answers at least one question: I definitely don't like Roy like that. Come on, Finn, let's go home."


	9. Chapter 8: The Two Witches

**Ed: I am sooooooo sorry! I got caught up in a whole bunch of stuff and I'm in a play which opens tonight and goes for three days and I'm seriously panicking over here...  
Ageha: Calm down!  
Ed: *hyperventilating*  
Ace: Er, perhaps we should get on with the chapter while she calms down.  
Heath: Good idea. Disclaimer: Editor-nee-chan doesn't own Harvest Moon. She just owns Ace and Ageha. She doesn't even own me.**

Chapter 8: Two Witches

"_That stupid brat!" the Witch snapped, pacing around her house. "I can't believe she actually found that bell in the wall! I mean, who looks in a wall for a bell?"_

_She looked around her house. "Drastic times call for drastic measures," she sighed, her gaze resting on a green object on her table that was distinctly bell shaped..._

"Gwah!" Ageha shrieked, sitting bolt upright in bed. Her alarm clock was blaring, so she smacked it to shut it up and leapt out of bed.

"Good morning, Ageha," Finn said, surprised at her uncharacteristic awakeness. "Someone's ready to get going early! What's wrong? This is so unlike you."

"That Witch person you were talking about has the Green Bell!" she explained, pulling on a sock while attempting to make toast at the same time. "Don't ask how I know," she interrupted as the orange Sprite opened his mouth to ask that very question, "I just know. I think it has something to do with the ring again...I had this dream, and...well, that's not important right now! The important thing is, it's cloudy so I can't ring Ben's bell anyway, so I may as well get to work on the next one, right?"

She bolted out the door and nearly bowled her mother over. "Ageha, why the hurry?" Hikari asked. "You look like your pants are on fire."

"Do you know anything I can give the Witch who lives in the forest as a peace offering?" Ageha asked as she hurried past her mom, watering can at the ready. "She has the Green Bell, and I kind of need that."

"Witch? Well, she likes Blackberry Pie and Fugue Mushrooms. Be careful, honey; Witch has a bad temper. But that's not what I came here to talk about." She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a bright orange whistle. "This is my old Animal Whistle. It has magic powers, and can summon different animals to take you to different places. The giraffe will take you to Harmonica Town, the hippo to the swamp, the pig to your house, and the elephant to the forest." She placed the beat-up whistle in Ageha's hands. "I thought it might come in handy. Take good care of it! Oh, and you can also use it to teach your animals tricks. Okay, I have to go. See you later!" She waved and ran off.

"This is perfect!" Finn sang, spinning in a circle. "Witch lives in the swamp deep in the forest! Now we won't have to worry about getting lost in the woods!"

"Cool, but that doesn't help much because I still have to finish my chores and then get her a peace offering."

"Well, hurry up with the chores, and you can buy Blackberry Pie at the Inn. Let's go already!"

"Does this actually work?"

Ageha was carefully balancing the pie in one hand while she contemplated the whistle outside the Ocarina Inn. "I mean, really," she continued, "it's kind of a weird concept."

"Just do it. Shout who you want to ride right after, too, or it won't work. You want the hippo, so call 'Humphrey.'"

"Yeah, okay," she said, rolling her eyes. But she blew the whistle and shouted "Humphrey!" anyway. Suddenly a big, fat hippo lumbered into view and stopped in front of her. Ageha stared. "It...it actually worked?"

"I know, isn't it cool? Now get on so he can take us to the Witch!"

The hippo ride was interesting, if a little bumpy, and they arrived in front of the Witch's somewhat misshapen house. Ageha thanked the hippo, who had turned out to be excellent at conversation, and marched towards the door, pie in hand. She paused before knocking to take a breath and steel herself, then tapped timidly on the door.

She was met with a grouchy, "Go away."

But Ageha prided herself on her determination, and used her ring-amplified powers to bust the door open. "I brought you pie!" she snapped. "But you don't get any unless you give me the bell!"

"Whatever happened to diplomacy?" Finn lamented.

"You shut up." Ageha looked around. "Um, Witch? Where are you?"

Suddenly a young woman's face framed by silver pigtails appeared right in front of her. Ageha yelped and jumped back. The Witch was very different from what she'd expected—old and creepy. Instead, she was young-looking and quite pretty, with an almost gothic-lolita sense of style. Her catlike orange eyes were glaring at Ageha like they could bore holes in her—and since she was a witch, Ageha didn't doubt that it was a distinct possibility.

"I don't want your stupid pie," she snapped. "I don't want anything from a Half-Breed!"

"Half-Breed? I don't know what you mean."

"Half-human, half-witch. I hate Halflings, especially you! You're the daughter of Gale and that...that..._woman_." She said 'woman' with such contempt that the acid practically burned a hole in the floor.

"I assume you mean Hikari."

Witch hissed angrily. "I hate that name! I hate her!"

"Is that why you're taking the bells?"

She nodded emphatically. "It's my revenge! If I can stop you from fulfilling your duty, it'll hurt _her_ so bad! Just like she..." Witch sighed, suddenly looking much older. "Just like she hurt me..."

In spite of herself, Ageha actually started to feel sorry for the older witch. "What did Mom do that hurt you so badly that you have to destroy Castanet to get back at her?"

"None of your business," Witch snapped, but there was a little less anger.

Ageha set the pie on a nearby table and spread her arms. "You can let it out. It's okay."

The sorceress began to bawl and launched herself at Ageha, burying her face in her shoulder. "Sh-she stole Gale f-from me...!" Ageha stroked her head reassuringly, mumbling condolences. "I love him and she st-stole him...! I c-can't f-forgive her for it..." She dissolved into a fresh round of tears.

Ageha didn't quite know what to say. Finally, she said, "Listen, I'm no expert on love, even though everyone thinks I am. But if there's one thing I do know about, it's about hearts. If you don't forgive Mom, you'll just carry that hate around with you forever, and you'll feel like crap." She sighed, thinking of Roy. "I have someone I need to forgive, too...and trust me, you'll feel a lot better if you do. Given time, your heart will heal, and who knows? Maybe you'll fall in love again."

"There's no one else," Witch mumbled miserably. "Gale's the only one who'll be around as long as me."

"Then travel the world. You can do it; you have magic, don't you? Find someone who makes you happy. From one witch to another, I strongly prescribe it."

Witch smirked and stood back. "You're no doctor."

"Well, my nickname around here is the Love Doc, so I guess I am a doctor."

Witch shook her head. "You really are her daughter," she sighed, cocking her head to the side and studying her. Ageha noticed that she didn't say _her_ like it was the worst insult in the world this time. "Always the dreamer. Well, good luck with your love life. I'll see you around, Witch."

Ageha smiled. "Right back at you, Witch." Then the smile dropped off her face. "Oh, shoot, I totally forgot why I came here in the first place! The bell!"

"Oh, that." Witch indicated a table behind her. "It's right there. You can have it. I don't need to get revenge anymore. I'll sit in front of _Sprite Rangers_ with some good pie and have another good cry and I should feel better by tomorrow."

Ageha laughed. "Try ice cream; I've heard that works better." And she left before things got too awkward.  


* * *

**Ed: Okay, I'm better now. Did you enjoy the chapter? I'm glad! The next one will be up...maybe tomorrow. If I remember.  
Ageha: If not, it'll be next week. See you then!  
**


	10. Chapter 9: The Green Bell of Wind

**Ed: I actually updated two days in a row! Yay me!  
Ageha: Yeah, but they aren't exactly your longest chapters...  
Ed: Who cares? It's up, right?  
Heath: Aw, stop bugging her, Ageha. She's doing her best.  
Ed: Thanks, Heath. Man, I didn't even create you and you're the nicest one here...besides Ace, of course. Speaking of which, disclaimer!  
Ace: Miss Ed doesn't own Harvest Moon and never will. But I belong to her, as does Ageha.**

Chapter 9: The Green Bell of Wind

After Ageha had hung the Green Bell back on its pedestal, Darren, the green Sprite, appeared. "Is everything alright?" Finn asked by way of greeting. "You look kind of green...no pun intended." In fact, the little Sprite did look kind of under the weather.

"I'm fine," he muttered, yawning. "But I can't ring the bell today, it's—"

"Cloudy, I know." Ageha rubbed her face. "It's getting kind of late anyway; we may as well go home, Finn. See you later, Darren. Get some sleep."

"I don't think he'll have any problem with that," Finn snickered. "Darren's such a sleepyhead! All he does is sleep. Day in and day out. It's kind of weird, actually."

"Maybe we should talk to the Harvest Goddess." Ageha felt kind of bad because she hadn't talked to the deity since she was first asked to ring the bells.

"No, that's just how Darren is," Finn laughed.

"I didn't mean that. He seemed sick. Like, really sick. And not just because the Tree is dying, either. He seems like he's caught a stomach bug or something."

"Well, I'm never one to protest against a trip to the Goddess Spring! Let's go!"

Ageha stopped off at the farm to grab her horse, and they galloped to the top of the mountain. "Wait here, Soph," she told her as she tied her reins to a tree. "I'll be right back." Sophie protested, as Sophie always did, but Ageha ignored her like usual and scurried into the brush.

"Miss Goddess," Ageha said when the formal greetings were over, "I think something's wrong with Darren."

The Goddess pursed her lips. "Does he seem ill, and more tired than usual?" Ageha nodded. "In that case, his power probably needs recharging."

"What, is he a battery or something?"

She laughed. "No, nothing like that. He just needs to have his power restored by moonlight. There are three places around Castanet that his bell needs to be bathed in to restore his powers. Unfortunately, I can't remember where they are. The bell needs to be bathed between 6pm and midnight for the restoration to work."

"Six and midnight. Got it. I'll get right on that. See you!" Ageha ran off, Finn trailing behind her.

"Come on, Sophie," Ageha said, untying her and mounting quickly. "It's five now. If we can find the spots now, we can restore Darren's powers tonight!"

"Hi, Ageha!"

The farmer looked up to see a certain green-haired adventurer sauntering towards her. Her heart fluttered a little. "Hi, Heath," she replied, forcing herself to calm down. "Sorry, I can't chat. I have to find three moonlight-catching stones by six."

"Moonlight-catching...? Oh, I know those!"

"Really?"

"Totally. There's one up by Ace's house, one on Horn Ranch, and one by the Lighthouse. If you take me with you, I can show you."

She pondered it for a couple of seconds, then nodded, patting the spot on the saddle behind her. "Hop on." He did, wrapping his arms around her so he wouldn't fall off. She blushed. "Watch where you keep those hands," she warned him, then nudged Sophie and they took off.

Making only a quick stop at Sonata Ranch again to find a separate mount for Heath ("Sophie can't carry you, me, and the bell," Ageha explained), they arrived at the Big Windmill with time to spare. Ageha carefully detached the bell so as not to awaken the Sprite and strapped it to her back. When she was done, she mounted Sophie and Heath tried not to fall off the ostrich she'd stuck him on, and they headed for the first stone.

"It's right there," Heath said, nodding to a white circle near the ranch exit.

Ageha dismounted and unstrapped the bell, holding it over the circle. "Heath, what time is it?"

He checked his watch. "Five fifty-nine...no, six!"

As soon as he said 'six,' the circle began to glow, and the bell regained a little bit of colour. _It's working!_ she thought triumphantly. She turned back to Heath, who was staring.

"Whoa," he said. "That was cool."

"Okay, so where are the other two?" she asked, climbing back on Sophie, who grumbled about the extra weight of the bell.

"Let's see...I think it would be faster if we went to the lighthouse's circle first. Then, we can take the mine cart to the Garmon Mine district to get the last one."

"Perfect, let's go."

After dropping Sophie and Mike (the ostrich) back at the ranch, Ageha and Heath ran for the lighthouse. They repeated the process with the second circle, then hurried up the hill towards the Celesta Church Grounds. "Oof, this thing seems to get heavier whenever I move," Ageha complained, shifting the bell for the umpteenth time.

"Here, I'll carry it."

"No, that's—" But Heath already had the bell untied and balanced precariously in his arms. "I'm fine; give it back," she protested, reaching for it, but he danced out of her way.

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a pretty girl do something strenuous like carry a giant bell up a big hill?"

"You aren't a gentleman anyway," she quipped.

There was a pause. Then: "More of a gentleman than _Roy_." Heath spat 'Roy' like it was a curse.

Ageha stopped walking as her heart skipped a beat. "Wh-what?" _How much does he know?_ she worried.

"Roy told me what happened. Apparently, he was coherent enough to remember what he'd done but still drunk enough to actually do it." He frowned, set the bell down, and leaned on it. "It was all I could do to stop myself from tearing him limb from limb."

"Stop, Heath," she whispered, covering her ears. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Well, I do. Much as I hate to say it, Roy really likes you. Even if you don't like him, you can't break his heart like this. You have to..." He sighed. "Forgive him. To his face. He was really beating himself up yesterday when he told me." He pushed his hat back and ran his fingers through his hair. "Aarg, I can't believe I'm actually defending my rival!"

"I can't, I just can't..."

"You have to. It doesn't have to be right away. But you have to. Otherwise, you'll feel really bad for a long time."

Ageha stared at him. _When did he get so smart? Wait...isn't this pretty much the same conversation I had with Witch this morning? Maybe I should start taking my own advice..._

"And Ageha?" She looked over at him and he touched her face. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

Her face went redder than Roy's hair and she stumbled back before striding forward, away from the awkward situation. "W-well, I'll think about it. Let's get going; there's still one more spot to find."

Ace had been reading when he saw the sudden flash of light from outside his window. He stood up and ran to the window to see what was the matter. Outside, he saw his sister holding a green bell over the white circle he'd noticed outside his home. Next to her was Heath, watching intently. The bell was glowing, and suddenly it disappeared. Ace frowned—was Ageha talking to the empty air? Then the bell reappeared and she started to strap it onto her back, but Heath grabbed it. They squabbled over it, but Heath finally won and hefted it onto his shoulder.

Ace smiled. _Well, well, well, _he thought. _So she did choose Heath. I may not know magic like her and Dad, but I think I know love when I see it._

Ageha's words came back to him. "Oh, what do you know? I had to bully you into asking Dakota on a date! And bribe you with food!" The smile dropped off his face and he sighed, resting his forehead against the cool glass of the window.

_Well, Ageha, now you know kind of how I felt,_ he thought, watching them leave. _Maybe Big Brother will have to play matchmaker for once._

"Well, thanks for helping me out and all."

They'd returned the bell to its pedestal, and Ageha was planning on ringing both it and the Blue Bell the next day, when the forecast promised sun. Heath had followed her home, claiming it was 'on the way' (which it was), but when Ageha gave him a 'look,' he crumpled and asked if he could walk her home. To her surprise, Ageha found herself agreeing to let him. As they walked, he reached out and took hold of her hand, and she clasped his tentatively. Now, they were standing just outside her house, saying their goodbyes.

She turned to go inside with a casual "See you later," but he took hold of her wrist, and, pulling her towards him, gave her a quick peck on the cheek before grinning his childish grin and running for the mountain path. Ageha touched her cheek where his lips had brushed, then quickly shook it off and rushed inside to make dinner.

"For crying out loud," she muttered, "I'm acting like some shojo Mary-Sue character! Stop it, Ageha! You aren't in love with Heath!"

"Someone's in denialཀྵ"

"Shut up, Finn! You aren't helping!"

Finn sat on the table and watched her bustle around to distract herself. Finally, he said, "Ageha, what's so wrong with falling in love with Heath?"

She paused. "I-it's just...he's...well, he's Heath. You know."

"No, I don't know. You'll have to tell me."

"For Pete's sake!" she snapped, slamming her frying pan down with such force that some of the rice spilled out. "Nothing's wrong with my being in love with Heath! It's just embarrassing, okay?"

"So you admit you are in love with Heath?"

"I never said that."

"Yes you did. Just now."

"I deny anything said under the influence of Fried Rice."

"You haven't eaten any yet."

"Would you leave me alone?"

"Tee-hee...you're so much fun to teaseཀྵ"

"Just shut up for a while, okay?"  


* * *

**Ed: I know, I know. The whole 'moonlight stones' thing was for the Yellow Bell. But I needed something interesting for the Green Bell, so there you go.  
Ageha: No one was going to say anything.  
Ed: Whatever. The next chapter should be posted next week, but after that I've had a teensy bit of writer's block so the eleventh chapter won't be up for a little while. Sorry! And thank you for reading! Please review!**


	11. Chapter 10: Wish

**Ed: So like I said last chapter, the next chapter won't be up for a bit because of my severe writer's block when it comes to this story. If anyone has any ideas, please PM me--do not review! Hopefully, soon I'll also be posting a series of short stories...all Harvest Moon, all yaoi. (LOL yes Ed does like yaoi.) This does not mean I won't be working on Next Gen, but I think Ageha needs a break.  
Ageha: Yes, please.  
Ed: Well, that's all for now. Please keep an eye out for the next chapter! And please review! I needs them so bad...  
Ace: Editor-nee-chan doesn't own anything except Ageha and myself. Thank you.**

Chapter 10: Wish

"For crying out loud!"

"Yeah, that's what Edge is doing. It's what he's best at, actually."

Ageha was stomping out of the church, fuming at the latest injustice to her quest. Edge, the Purple Sprite, was so upset that no one ever came to the Wishing Shrine at the church anymore that he couldn't ring the bell. All he did was bawl his eyes out.

"Look, Hikari had the exact same predicament. What she had to do was get the wishes of ten people and give them to the Wishing Shrine; then Edge could ring his bell. It should be pretty easy. I mean, you have lots of friends, right?"

"I know, but still, it's _soooo_ annoying!" She sighed as she trotted down the steps into town. "Whose dumb idea was this, anyway?"

"The Harvest Goddess's."

"Rrg. Well, she needs better ideas. Okay, let's go get wishes."

This turned out to be easier said than done. Most people didn't understand why she needed to know, and Gill even accused her of stalking him. The only people who would tell her their wish were the people she'd grown up with.

Matt's wish was to get a really big ship. Angie's wish was to be with Matt forever. Vivian's wish was to be the mayor someday. Van wanted to find a cure for Fugue Mushroom poison. Dakota wished her mom could cook better. Hikari wished that there could be a way for her to stay with Gale forever, and Gale wished that he could be human to stay with Hikari. Then Ageha went to the Garmon Mine district.

"My wish?" asked Bo, one of the carpenters. "Maybe that Luke would calm down a little...no, he's fine the way he is. I just want nature to flourish and be healthy!"

"My wish?" said Selena. "Maybe that Luke would calm down a little...no, he's fine the way he is. I wish that my parents would quit worrying about me."

"My wish?" said Dale, the master carpenter. "Maybe that Luke would calm down a little...no, he's fine the way he is. I just want my granddaughter to stand tall and proud!"

"My wish?" asked Lucy. "Maybe that Dad would calm down a little...no, he's fine the way he is. I wish that I could be a world-famous dancer!"

"Okay, so it's a general consensus that Luke is hyperactive but fine the way he is," Ageha sighed. "I wonder what his wish is?" She spotted him and waved. "Luke! What do you wish for?"

"Hm..." He appeared to be thinking. "Maybe that I could be a little less energetic? Nah, that's no good. I wish that Selena and Lucy are always happy!"

Ageha had to repress the urge to facepalm. "Uh...okay, thanks."

"How many does that make?" she asked Finn after Luke was a safe distance away.

"Um...twelve."

"Cool! Let's go back to the church and—"

"Ageha!"

There was Heath, waving madly as he ran towards her. "Hello! What brings you to the Garmon Mine district?" He leaned in close. "Looking for more of last night? Why, you naughty minx.སྟ"

"Th-that's..." She pushed him away. "No, that's not it." She explained and he sighed.

"So it wasn't to see me?"

She started to say "No" quite bluntly, but then she paused. _Why did I come to the mining area? Flute Fields was closer, yet I went all the way back up the mountain. Was it..._ She glanced at Heath, who was looking at her with a pouty but confused look on his face. _Was it to see Heath?_

"Well, if you need to know my wish..."

"No, I'm good. I only needed ten, and I have twelve."

"But you can get a trophy for getting everyone's!" Finn exclaimed.

Ageha's ears perked up. She had this 'thing' about trophies...that is to say, she was obsessed with collecting them. "On second thought, I'd like to know."

"Well," he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and smirking down into her big, gold eyes, "if you want it, you'll have to give me a kiss first."

She swallowed. _When the hell did he get so forward? _"I-I..." She couldn't think; he was so close to her; she leaned forward...

"WHAT the HELL is THIS?"

The twosome sprang apart like startled rabbits at the sound of a very angry Lucy, her fists propped on her hips, glaring at them like she was trying to incinerate them. Even though she wasn't magical, Ageha somehow thought she probably could, too.

"I turn my back for ONE SECOND and suddenly the two of you are making like bunnies? Can anyone else tell me what is so WRONG with this picture?" Ageha and Heath hung their heads and took a sudden interest in their footwear. Lucy continued to frown at them, then her face split into a wide grin. "I'm just kidding. It's about time! I mean, it was _so_ obvious to everyone that you _had_ to end up together."

"So why did you interrupt us, then?" Heath asked, annoyed at having his fun cut short.

"Because it's fun. Duh."

Ageha threw her hands in the air. "Oh for...whatever. I'm going to the church now. Laters."

"Nooo! Ageha, come baaaack!" Heath raced after her.

Lucy smirked. _Finally! Goddess, why did it take so long?_ Then she looked over and saw a certain rusty-haired young blacksmith.

"Roy..."

He looked up at the sound of his name. Lucy walked towards him. "Oh, hi Luce," he mumbled.

"You look like your best friend just got crushed by a giant squid."

He laughed. "Where did the giant squid thing come from?"

"My head. Seriously, though, are you okay? With the whole Ageha thing, I mean."

The young man sighed dejectedly and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah. Well, no, but...I guess I'll have to be, won't I? I mean, she _totally_ rejected me."

"Um, hello, you were smooching her? I'd reject you too, if you randomly walked up to me and did that! Plus, you were more than a little tipsy, if memory serves."

Roy whirled. "Look, can you drop it already? I said I'm fine!"

Lucy pecked him on the cheek. "Yeah, I know." And she sauntered off, leaving a confused Roy in her wake.

"Roy! Come back to the shop; break time's over!" Owen's voice drifted to his son from the direction of the blacksmith's, and Roy wandered in. When he came in, Owen frowned at him. "Are you okay, Roy? You look kind of..."

"I always look 'kind of...'. Dad, what do you do if you don't know if you like this girl who likes someone else or a girl who likes you that you had a crush on when you were a kid?"

His father patted his shoulder, like fathers always do when imparting crucial information to their sons. "What only the most intelligent and logical people do, son: panic."

"Pleeeeeeeeeease?"

"No."

Heath was still trying to wheedle a kiss from Ageha while they walked through the church to the Wishing Shrine. Perry, the priest, gave them a funny look as they walked by, but didn't say anything and went back to reading.

"How about this," Heath suggested as the door clicked shut behind them. He grabbed Ageha by the arms and spun her around. "I'll give you a kiss _and_ my wish for free."

"No." She wiggled out of his grip and turned to the Shrine. "But I _will_ settle for a date tomorrow night. It is the Full Moon Festival, after all."

He hit his forehead in surprise. "Right! That's tomorrow!" Then he blushed slightly. "You...you want to go with me?"

"Well, duh. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise."

She squeaked a little in surprise as he hugged her from behind. "Yay! I'd love to go with you! I'll see you there!" And he zoomed off.

"You never got his wish," Finn scolded.

"I...I'll get it later. Now, how do we go about doing this?"

"Someone up there hates me," Ageha sighed, staring out from the church door at the rain that had suddenly started. "Now, not only can I not ring the Purple Bell, but I can't get home without getting soaked. So not fair."

"If life were fair, we wouldn't need the Harvest Goddess," Perry commented from his spot at the front.

"True, but it would sure make things a lot easier on everyone." She wandered over to one of the pews and plunked down. "I guess I'll just hang out here until it stops."

She didn't remember dozing off, but the next thing she knew, someone was shaking her and calling her name over and over. Sitting up, she blinked blearily at the person who'd woken her up. It was Heath, holding a folded umbrella. "Heath? Whuzzat?"

"You fell asleep. Perry called me and asked me to take you home."

"Why'd he call you?"

Perry appeared, looking confused. "What? You're not dating? I thought you were."

"Uh, n-no, we're not..." _But I'd like to be...whoa, where did that thought come from? I must be more tired than I thought!_

"Well, in any case, I'll be going, then. Has the rain stopped?"

"Er, no. It's kind of pouring out there."

"Great. At least you have an umbrella." She stood and stretched. "Let's go, then."

They said goodbye to Perry and Heath popped the umbrella open. "Stay under," he said. "Don't want you catching a cold." She nodded, then jolted when he put his arm around her and squeezed her close. "I said, stay close. You're wandering off on your own again."

"S-sorry."

They walked on in awkward silence. Then Heath muttered, "...wish?"

"What was that, sorry?"

"I said, do you still want to know my wish?"

"Oh! Yes! I definitely still need that." By this point, they'd reached Symphony Ranch. "Do you want to come in? I can make you some tea."

"Yes please! I love tea!ཀྵ"

She sat him at the table and started boiling the water. "So what do you wish for, more than anything in the world?" she asked over her shoulder as she searched the fridge for some Tea Leaves.

As she closed the door, she felt him up against her from behind. His hands were on either side of her, pinning her to the fridge. "When you needed me to walk you home...I was happier than anything in the world. I wish that you would always need me in your life."

Her heart was beating too quickly; she couldn't breathe. "H-Heath..." she choked out.

He sprang back. "I-I'm sorry! Too much?" The tears started to fall, and she couldn't stop them or hide them from him. "Ageha, what's wrong? Did I scare you? I'm so sorry; I just wanted to be kind of romantic; you know how bad at that I am..."

"N-no, it's not that," she sniffled. "It's silly, but I..." She turned to him, trying desperately to wipe her face. "I love you. That's why I'm crying."

He was completely shocked. This was the first time she'd ever said anything that even hinted at how she really felt towards him. "Wh-what?"

"I know, it doesn't make much sense—crying because you're in love, but...I just c-can't help it." He moved towards her to comfort her, and she grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him down to her level and kissing him. Then she broke off. "Oh, no! The tea!"

He sighed and waited until she'd left the teapot to steep, then pulled her towards him. "I love you, Ageha."

"I love you—" She was cut short by his kiss.

Heath went home after he'd finished his tea. And Ageha slept like a log for the first time in weeks.


	12. Chapter 11: Reminiscing

**Ed: Look, look! It's up!  
Ageha: Didn't you finish this on the long weekend?  
Ed: Yeah, but I forgot my memory stick...the irony is crushing...  
Ace: Editor-nee-chan doesn't own Harvest Moon. She does, however, own us.  
Ed: Okay, I'm not doing any more disclaimers. If you haven't figured it out by now, that is very sad indeed.**

Chapter 11: Reminiscing

Three days later.

It had stopped raining just in time for the Full Moon Festival, but after that was over it continued raining for two days straight. Ageha had fumed about it for a while, but then both she and the panicking Finn resigned themselves to the fact that the Harvest Goddess would have to wait a bit longer for the bells to be rung, and settled down with a good book.

After her book was done, she didn't have much else to do, so she got out her photo album. There were pictures of her as a baby, a family photo from when she was five, and lots of pictures of her and her friends. Pictures at school, in the mine, exploring the forest (and getting lost, she recalled), getting her checkup at the Clinic with Van. As she progressed through the album, people started disappearing from her life as she grew more distant from them. But through it all, three people remained constant: Ace, Lucy, and Heath.

_He's always been there,_ she thought with a smile as she turned the page. On the next page was the picture she'd asked Simon to take of her and Heath on the Full Moon Festival two days ago. It was the first time Ageha had gone with a date, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She'd made and brought tea, and Heath had brought cookies (which he'd made with his mom's help). Afterwards, he'd walked her home, and the best part had been that there were no parents to break up their goodbye kiss.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ageha went to answer it and found Roy there, holding an umbrella. "Roy? What's the matter?" He pushed past her wordlessly. "Roy?"

He whirled. "Ageha, I'm so confused! What do I do?"

"Just a second." Ageha put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "I see. You still feel that you like me but you feel conflicted about Lucy's feelings for you? Is that it?" Roy nodded gloomily. "Sit down." He obliged and she paced around, thinking. "Well, I can take another look, if you want, but from what I saw, you really shouldn't be dating _anyone_ until you sort it out. Your heart's this huge jumble of mess, and I doubt that even Dad could interpret it."

Roy sighed audibly. "Uugh...! Why can't anything ever be simple?"

"No offence, but...shouldn't you be asking a _guy_ about this? I mean, sure we're friends and all, but don't guys ask guys and girls ask girls? Isn't that the way it works?"

Roy was watching her. "You mean...we're still friends?"

"Well, duh. It doesn't matter who I'm dating, we can still—"

"No!" he yelled, banging his fist on the table. Ageha jumped. "I meant...after what I did to you."

"Ah," she said, "that." The young witch pursed her lips. "Well, while I'm still not entirely over that—it was my first kiss after all—I can honestly say that I will forgive you. I'll forgive you," she continued as Roy visibly relaxed and opened his mouth, "but I'll never forget."

Roy nodded glumly. "I don't think words exist to tell you how sorry I am."

She patted his shoulder. "I know. Don't beat yourself up too badly. I wouldn't recognise you."

"But about the Lucy thing—"

"Why don't you ask Roy?" she said, pointing to his heart. "He's a pretty honest guy." (A/N: line definitely not stolen from Star Trek!)

He nodded and smiled. "Thank you. I'll try." He opened his umbrella and left.

Ageha sighed and slumped back at the table. _Dear Goddess, I'm sleepy,_ she thought drowsily. _Something about the rain, and reading, and..._

She dozed off.

_Knock knock._

"Mrrr," Ageha protested sleepily, pushing herself up from the table and stumbling towards the door. "'M coming, 'm coming," she mumbled.

It was Ace. "Hello, Ageha...is this...a bad time?"

"Nope. Come on in."

She made tea as he seated himself at the table. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I noticed you are...unusually friendly...with Heath these days."

"Um, yeah. We're dating."

Ace practically fell off his chair. "You're kidding."

"Nope. We've been going out for about four days now," she explained, bringing over the tea. "Why? Jealous? Want to be the only guy in my life? I hate to break it to you, but there'll always be Dad, too..."

"Don't be...ridiculous. I just thought...maybe I could...play matchmaker for once..." He sighed. "I know I didn't...inherit Dad's powers...like you...but I think...I know certain emotions when I...see them."

Ageha smirked at him over her teacup. "You don't need magic. You're just naturally smart. Except when it comes to girls. By the way, how's Dakota?"

"She is well...we both enjoyed the Full Moon Festival two days ago..." He looked out the window. "Oh...the rain has stopped..."

"WHAT?" screeched Ageha. "You're kidding me! Sorry, Ace, I've got to go before it starts to pour again!" She ran around, looking for her boots and umbrella in case it started raining again later.

"I'll see myself out, then...goodbye, Ageha." He left, and she was a split second behind him, dashing for Sophie.

* * *

**Ed: Okay, still having some writer's block plus I'm going to Anime North tomorrow (squeal!) and I won't be able to write for a while. I'm so sorry about the long waits but it's also exam time...  
Ageha: Please bear with us and we'll see you soon! Reviews are very welcome!**


	13. Chapter 12: Four Seasons

**Ed: I dare you not to get 'Four Minutes to Save the World' stuck in your head.  
Ageha: You're evil.  
Ed: Anyway, so sorry about not posting. Circumstances beyond my control, including Anime North and prom, etc. kind of got in the way. Plus I've started a collaborative fanfic with my brother about...wait for it...Bionicle. Don't ask. So please enjoy the twelfth chapter!  
Ace: Ed doesn't own anything except me and my sister.**

Chapter 12: Four Seasons to Save the World

"You have _got_ to be effing kidding me."

Ageha and Finn were at the Goddess Pond again, where the Harvest Goddess was surrounded by the other five Sprites. She'd just finished congratulating the duo on ringing all five bells. Then Alan had exclaimed, "But the Goddess Tree is still dying!"

That was where Ageha had inserted her "You have_ got_ to be effing kidding me."

The deity shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Without the Harvest King, my power will never fully return, and the Goddess Tree will slowly wither and die...and me along with it."

Edge started to cry again. Finn looked close to tears himself. "B-but you're the Harvest Goddess!" he protested. "Y-you can't just _die_!"

"So how do I summon the Harvest King? I mean, it's got to be done, right?" Ageha asked. "Is it another collection quest? I hate those. I'm so bad at them. I mean, I've never even completed my Pokédex in _Pokémon Red_, and I've been playing that for years..."

"Collection quest? No...you'll have to ring all five bells at the same time."

"That'll be interesting, seeing as they're all in completely different parts of Castanet, and there weren't five of me, last time I checked."

The Goddess laughed. "No, no. The Harvest Sprites can each ring their own bells from here."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" No one moved. "What? Come on, guys, we need to—"

"Ageha," Finn interrupted sombrely, "you can't ring the bells yet."

"Well why the hell not?"

"You have to have a rank of Hero or higher to do it. You're only a Master Farmer."

"And that's bad, is it?" Finn nodded. "Well, I'll work on my Farm Degree. Miss Goddess, you concentrate on staying alive, okay? No running off and making new worlds or whatever it is you magic immortal people do for fun. Got that?"

The green-haired woman smiled at Ageha's shaky attempt at humour in such a grave situation. "Got it. The Sprites will be waiting for you at the Harvest King's throne when you are ready."

"How long do we have until...?" Ageha couldn't bring herself to say it.

"About a year. Thanks to your ringing of the bells, my life force has returned enough to sustain me for that long."

"Right. I'll work hard!"

Each Sprite said their goodbyes and teleported to the top of the Garmon Upper Mine as she left. Ageha got to the bridge leading out of the mining district before she burst into frustrated tears. "It's not fair!" she snapped at the concerned Finn. "We've worked so hard, and she's still in danger...it's not fair, dammit!" she shrieked at the waterfall.

"Ageha?"

"What?" she snapped, turning around. Heath was standing there, looking at her with a concerned face. "Hey, Heath. Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said, taking her by the shoulders and making her look him in the eye. "Just tell me what's wrong."

And it poured out—everything, from the existence of Harvest Sprites to the fact that the Goddess was still dying. Heath was surprisingly quiet during her sniffly tirade, and when she'd finished, he drew her into a hug and let her cry it out. "It's just so unfair," she kept saying.

After her sobs died away, she just rested there for a few minutes, until she suddenly leapt back and shrieked, "Don't look at me!"

"What? Why not?"

"I must be a mess—!"

He took her hand. "You're beautiful."

She smiled up at him. "Walk me home?"

"Of course!"

When Heath got home that night, he was immediately ambushed by Pheobe. "Heath, honey, you'll never guess what your father and I saw at the mine today!"

Heath rolled his eyes inwardly. His parents were always finding the randomest things in the mine: funny-tasting mushrooms, so-called 'ancient artefacts' that were in fact just random pieces of smashed-up rock (Calvin usually found those), and even, on one occasion, the world's coldest hot spring, which they promptly lost. "You're right, Mom. I never will guess. Because I'm going to bed."

"No, no, listen!" His mom was waving her arms in excitement. "We saw the Blue Bird!"

That was enough to make Heath sit up and take notice. "The Blue Bird? The one that people use feathers from to propose?"

"No, the other Blue Bird. Yes, that Blue Bird! Dad and I saw it flying towards the mountaintop as we left the mine. Isn't that great? That means that people can get married now!"

Heath had to stifle the urge to laugh. "What, people can't get married without a Blue Feather?"

"Well, they can, but it's tradition. A lot of girls expect that kind of thing." She gave him a pointed look and he blushed.

"Mom, Ageha and I haven't even been going out for a week! Don't go saying stuff like that!"

"But I didn't say anything," she said innocently, heading for her room. "You're the one who took it the way you did."

Heath sighed and sat at the table. _Why do people like making things more complicated?_

Fall 27 was the day before the Harvest Festival. Ageha was running around like crazy trying to gather the best crops she could and harvest her Bluemist Flowers before the festival. Finn tried to help as best as he could, but he wasn't much use around the farm and he knew it.

Eventually, Heath came by. "Hi, Ageha," he said brightly.

"Hi, hon," she replied, quickly kissing him on the cheek before getting back to work.

"I brought you some stuff to ship," he said, dumping a few ores and flowers into her shipping bin. "I thought it might help with the whole Hero thing."

Ageha glanced at him. _He's really matured,_ she thought. _Hard to believe that it was less than a month ago that he was all 'lala, I'm full of energy and completely insane!' Now he's so grown up._ She briefly wondered what it would be like if they got married, then shook it out. "Thanks," she smiled. "That'll really help." She saw a flash of blue next to his foot. "Oh, you've dropped something," she said, leaning down to pick it up.

He blushed. "N-no! That's—" But it was too late; she'd already picked up the Blue Feather.


	14. Chapter 13: What Did I Ever See in Him?

**Ed: Look! Sunlight! I have finally climbed out of the mess that is my life!  
Ageha: What, you're dead?  
Ed: Don't be silly. I just got my priorities straight now, that's all. Anyway, I'm really sorry about not updating this for a while. Really sorry. *insert excuses here* As punishment, I have gotten Bye Bye Birdie music stuck in my head again. Where do you think the chapter title came from?  
Ageha: I was wondering about that...  
Ed: It's a song from BBB, which I was in. Anyway, please enjoy Chapter 13 and remember, reviews make the world go 'round!  
Ace: Actually, that's not-  
Ageha: Disclaimer! Ed doesn't own anything except me and Ace. On with the show!  
Ed: Put on a happy face...NOOOOOOOOO!**

Chapter 13: What Did I Ever See in Him?

_SLAP!_

Heath bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying out when Ageha slapped him across the face. Her eyes were teary, and she'd thrown the Blue Feather on the ground. "You idiot!" she shrieked, storming into her house and slamming the door.

"W-wait, Ageha, I can explain!" he protested, pounding on the door to be let in.

"Go away!" she shot back, tears in her eyes and her voice.

"But I—"

"Just go!"

Bewildered and more than a little sad, Heath stuck the Blue Feather in his pocket and trudged sadly towards the mountain path.

Ageha threw herself onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow. Finn buzzed worriedly around her head, unsure of how to cheer her up. When he'd been with Hikari, she had never had a problem like this. He didn't even know what the problem was. In his opinion, there shouldn't be a problem. Ageha loved Heath, Heath loved Ageha—what was wrong with the two of them wanting to be together for the rest of their lives?

A phone call later, and Lucy was there, force-feeding Ageha herbal tea and rubbing her back. "Now, tell me what's going on. What's the problem?"

The problem, in Ageha's opinion, was that Heath either wanted things to move forward too fast or was cheating on her. Why else would he have a Blue Feather? Lucy frowned. "Did you ever think that there might be another reason?"

"Like what?"

"Well, I heard him talking to Roy about two or three weeks ago. He was telling him that the Blue Bird had been spotted at the top of the Garmon Upper Mine, and that, since he didn't know when it would be back, he was planning on going to the top of the mine to see if he could snag a Blue Feather. This was just after you two had started going out. Roy asked if he didn't think that was moving a little too fast, and Heath assured him that he wasn't planning on proposing just yet, but that it was tradition and that girls expect that kind of thing."

Ageha didn't say anything for a minute. Then she stood up. "I'd better go apologise, huh?"

"You do that. Come on, let's go."

"Heath's not here," Pheobe said.

Ageha was confused. "He's not? Where else would he go?"

"He said something about the top of the Garmon Mine, took my best hammer, and ran off." Pheobe looked worried. "Ageha, do you know what this is about?"

"I think so. Don't worry, I'll find him."

Ageha ran to the mine, Lucy running behind her. "Slow...down," Lucy puffed.

"Heath could be in danger because of me! I have to go!"

"Ageha...wait..."

Ageha looked to see Ace standing next to the mine entrance. "Are you...going to the top...?" She quickly explained what was going on, and he nodded. "In that case...come with me..."

The two girls followed him into the mine. He pointed to a strange mark on the wall. "This rune...was created by the Harvest King for Mom. When she had rung the bells, he...needed someone with a pure heart...to travel to another land...with the seedling for a new Goddess Tree. He made the rune so she could...get to the top to talk with him...quickly."

"Wait," said Lucy. "Hikari went to some other land to deliver a plant?"

"Not Mom...me."

Ageha stared at him. "Wh-what?"

"You were very young, Ageha, so I doubt you'd remember...but I went to deliver the seedling. When I had finished, I came back. I was gone for a season at most...anyway, the point is that you can use this rune to get to the top."

"How?"

"Place your hand on it..."

Ageha moved towards the symbol, then turned to her brother. "Why didn't anyone tell me about any of this? You knew that Mom was the Hero, and about the Goddess Tree, and everything, right? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You wouldn't have...believed me..."

She sighed. "You and your stupid logic. Alright, let's go find Heath." She placed her hand on the rune and everything seemed to fade around her.

When things were focussed again, she was at the top of the mine, on the part that was supposed to be the Harvest King's throne. The five Sprites were there as well, and they were, to say the least, surprised by the fact that she'd suddenly appeared in their midst.

"Ageha!" Alan said happily. "Did you increase your rank?"

"I don't know. This jerk won't tell me," Ageha said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at Finn.

"I can't calculate it until the end of a season!" Finn whined. "But that's not why we're here. Has there been a human man with green hair and a safari-type outfit up here?"

"No," Ben said. "Why?"

"We think he's planning on coming here," Ageha explained. She peered over the edge of the platform. "Okay, is there a way to get down there without using those stupid steps again?" She looked at the ring on her finger. _This enhances my magic, right? Maybe it can help me do more advanced things, like teleporting._ Closing her eyes in concentration, she focussed on the platform near the door. The ring started to glow...

Unbeknownst to Ageha at the time, Heath was coming out of the mine's exit. He always went to high places when he wanted to think, and since he had a lot of stuff to think about, he went to the highest place in Castanet. He sat next to the rock where he'd found the Blue Bird, twirling a beautiful sapphire feather between his fingers.

_Why didn't she let me explain? What did I do wrong? Sometimes I just don't get girls..._ Suddenly, he stood up and faced the wintry abyss in front of him. "Maybe I should just get rid of the feather," he said out loud. "Then everything will go back to normal...right?" He held the feather over the edge with a trembling hand.

A bright flash caught his attention. Startled, he dropped the feather, but he had more things to worry about at the moment. Ageha's teleporting experiment had been a success, and the flash that had attracted his attention came from the ring on her finger. She was floating at the end of the steps, and Heath ran over to catch her as she slowly lowered to the ground. The glow faded as she smiled up at him. "Hi."

"Hi yourself," he said, putting her down. "What were you doing? You remember what happened last time you were here, right?"

"I fell, and you caught me," she smirked. "Déjà vu, anyone?" The smile fell off her face and she hung her head. "Heath, I...I'm sorry I overreacted. I didn't mean anything I said. I thought you wanted things to go too fast or that you were cheating or something."

"Cheating? No way! This is me we're talking about here!"

"Yeah, you're too simple minded to cheat."

"Hey!" He stuck his tongue out at her. "Um, it's okay. I guess it probably seemed that way. The only problem is that...well...I kind of accidentally dropped the Blue Feather over the edge. Now I don't know when I'll be able to get a new one."

"That's okay," Ageha said, hugging her boyfriend and burying her face in his chest. "Some girls need that kind of thing, but I don't. I love you."

"I love you too," he said, tilting her head up and kissing her.

Down on the ground, a certain Blue Feather drifted down from the sky onto the head of a certain rusty-headed blacksmith. Roy plucked it off his head and examined it. _Where did this come from?_ he wondered. _Did the Blue Bird come back or something? What do I do with it? It's not like I have anyone to give it to..._

"Hey, Roy!"

He turned to see Lucy walking up behind him. "Have you seen Heath? He and Ageha kind of had a fight and Ageha's looking for him at the top of the mine. The only thing is that she hasn't come back yet, and Ace and I are getting worried."

"A fight?" _Funny...a few weeks ago I would have been happy, because that would mean that I might have a chance...but now I don't care._

"Yeah, something to do with a Blue Feather." For the first time, Lucy seemed to notice the feather that Roy was holding. "What's with the feather? Planning on getting married or something?"

"Uh, no," Roy stumbled, hiding it behind his back. "It...kind of fell from the sky."

Lucy instinctively looked up. "Right. Well, if you do see Heath, let me know, will you? That way I can personally murder him."

"You certainly are violent."

"Well duh. You've known me for how many years and you're just figuring this out now?" She turned and started to walk away. "Obviously, you don't know me very well."

Before he could stop himself or talk himself out of it, Roy ran to her and grabbed her wrist. "You're right; I obviously don't know you as well as I thought. But I'd like to get to know you."

Lucy turned, a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. "Is that your way of asking someone out?"

"Uh...maybe?"

"Geez, no wonder Ageha rejected you. Okay, sure, when?"


	15. Chapter 14: Proud Family Bonds

**Ed: I actually...finished it? It's a miracle!  
Ageha: Good. It took you long enough. People probably stopped looking.  
Ed: That's not true!...Right? Anyway, I'm very sorry for the delay. This chapter turned out a lot different than I was planning, but I like it. It does move the story along in the way I'd planned, but it's also being used to tie up some loose ends. Yes, we are finally nearing the end of the story. There's this chapter, and one or maybe two after it if I feel like an epilogue.  
Ageha: SPOILER ALERT! If you don't want to know the Harvest King's true name, don't read this!  
Ed: Don't tell them not to read! Oh, well. And at one point, clink3k1 asked what it was a god needs to do anyway. This will be revealed in the next chapter which I should probably write now...  
Kopaka: No, you need to write more of the Rahi Warrior because if you don't your brother and reviewers will kill you.  
Ed: What are you doing here? You're not even from Harvest Moon! You're from Bionicle!  
Ace: (interrupting before things get out of hand) Miss Ed doesn't own Harvest Moon (or Bionicle for that matter), just my sister and me.**

Chapter 14: Proud Family Ties

"Ageha?"

Ageha turned over in bed and pulled the covers over her head. "Mrflnrfl."

"Ageha?"

"Fnoo."

"For crying out loud, wake up, Ageha!" There were times when Finn wished he could affect physical objects so he could throw them at her. This was one of those times. "It's Spring, and I need to give you your new rank!"

That got her up immediately. Winter had come and gone, and her rank had actually managed to decrease. But she'd been working really hard since, and she was desperately hoping that her rank had gone up. If it hadn't...

"Well, what is it?" she asked, grabbing the tiny Sprite and shaking him.

"Ag-g-g-ehaaaaaa, stoooop!" Finn shrieked. She finally stopped shaking him and he straightened his little orange tunic. (A/N: I don't know what it is but I think it's a tunic.) Clearing his throat, he announced, "Your rank has gone up to Hero in Animals! Congratulations, Ageha!"

She actually screamed, bouncing out of bed. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go to the top of the mountain!"

Normally, Finn would have told her about her responsibility to her farm, but he wanted the Harvest King back as much as Ageha did. So he flew back and forth impatiently while she brushed and took care of the animals that had earned her the rank she desired, then took off up the mountain without her, saying he'd meet her at the top.

Before he went up, he went to see the Harvest Goddess. She was pale and slightly transparent, which really worried Finn, but she smiled and told him not to worry. "I'll be fine," she told him, "as long as Ageha can summon the Harvest King soon."

"Then everything's going to be fine!" Finn said happily. "Her rank went up to Hero in Animals today!"

The deity clapped her hands together and laughed her musical laugh. "That's wonderful, Finn! When is she going to ring the bells?"

"Today. I'm going to meet her at the top and then we'll summon the King!"

Finn gazed at the Goddess. She was like a mother to all the Sprites, including him. It pained him to see her like this. She, in return, smiled at him, knowing he was worrying over nothing, like usual. In truth, the two were closer than one might imagine.

When Finn finally left the Goddess Pond and arrived at the mountain's summit, he found Alan and the others waiting for him. It was a good chance to get caught up with his brothers, who he hadn't seen for a very long time. But he was chatting for too long: Ageha was getting later and later. Ben was the first to notice.

"Shouldn't she be here by now?" he asked, looking at the mine's entrance.

"Yeah," Darren added with a yawn. "It's not _that_ far up the mountain."

"Remembering that you can teleport?" Finn said icily. He was getting more and more worried. Where was she?

As it turned out, she was visiting the Harvest Goddess. "Goddess," she began. "Did Finn already tell you?"

She smiled. "Yes. I'm so proud of you, Ageha. It seems like only yesterday you were just a little girl..."

"Oh, great, now you sound like my mom," the rancher grumbled.

The Goddess laughed. "There is something else, isn't there?"

Ageha sighed and nodded. "It's Ace. Why didn't anyone tell me about the little quest thing he went on? Was it some big secret or something?"

"Oh, no. The whole town turned out for his departure."

"Then why didn't anyone _tell me_?"

"For the same reason no one told you about your mother: they were afraid you might be afraid of magic."

Ageha paused. "What?"

"Ageha," she said, taking her by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes, "you have very powerful magic, even more powerful than your father's. Not because of the ring," she added as Ageha opened her mouth. "It was just a stepping stone; you've become more used to your magic because of it. But you don't need it to be a powerful witch. You have a lot of magic in you, Ageha. I sensed this, and told your mother not to tell you about everything that had happened because I thought it would make you fear magic, and if that happened, you'd never reach your full potential."

The young woman was quiet for a minute. Then she spoke up again. "But Ace...why doesn't he have any magic?"

"That's a good question. I think you'd best ask Ace about that himself."

She nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to do that first."

The Goddess smiled. "You go right ahead. I can wait."

Ageha nodded again and ran to find her brother.

"Why don't I...have magic?" Ace blinked at his sister over his teacup. "That is a very...odd question, Ageha."

"Well, I'm an odd person. I want to know."

He sighed and abandoned his tea. Standing up, he started to pace. That made Ageha nervous. Ace never paced unless he was about to say something that was hard for him.

Finally, he spoke. "Dad...when Mom was pregnant with me, Dad went to the Harvest King. The King owed him a favour for something...though I don't know what. He asked him to let me be born...without magic...because..." He suddenly looked right at Ageha. "Do you know the pain of childbirth?"

Her face went bright red. "Well, having never had a baby myself, not really, but I can guess. Why?"

"Because while it is painful to bring a human into the world...it is not only painful, but often dangerous to give birth to a magical being. Dad didn't want that...for Mom, so he asked this of the Harvest King. Mom found out about it, and told him...not to do that with you. She said she would survive...because she was hardy." He gave a small smile. "She was right."

"But...but..." She couldn't think of what to say. Then she said, "Did you ever resent me? For having magic, I mean."

"Never," came the immediate answer. He strode over to her and gave her a hug. "I have always been proud...to call you my sister."

When she left, he watched her head for the mines. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What he'd told her wasn't strictly true—there had been a time when he'd hated her for having magic that should have been his. But that had been long ago, when he was just a boy. And how could he tell that to his sister, who he loved now? No, his secret resentment as a child would be a secret that he would carry with him to his grave.

With a flash, Ageha appeared at the foot of the Harvest King's throne. All six Sprites jumped at her arrival. Finn crashed into her in his version of a hug. "Ageha! You're all right!"

"I'm fine, Finn. Now, let's ring those bells!"

Each Sprite simultaneously raised his arms (with the exception of Finn, of course) and called upon the unique power of his bell. Across the land of Castanet, the sounds of bells were heard, and Heath, Roy, and Lucy were jumping up and down. "She did it!" they shouted happily. Ace glanced out his window and smiled. Wizard and Hikari clasped hands and hummed along with the melody they hadn't heard in over twenty years.

And the Harvest Goddess looked up from her place at her pond. There were tears in her eyes, but she was smiling. She whispered three words, and there was more meaning and feeling in them than there had ever been in anything she'd ever said.

"Welcome home, Ignis."

* * *

**Coming soon: Chapter 15: The Harvest King! Should be posted within a week or two. Please review!**


	16. Chapter 15: The Harvest King Returns

**Ed:...Whoa. It's actually...updated? And it's...almost over?  
Ageha: Finally.  
Ace: Congratulations...Miss Ed...  
Ed: Thanks, Ace. I'd like to apologise for abandoning this story for so long. You know the writer's block where you know what you want to happen, but you just can't figure out how to put it into words? That's what I had. Thankfully, my plot bunny has returned, at least for now. The thing's a fickle bugger.  
Plot Bunny: Fine, I'm leaving then.  
Ed: Nooooo! Come back! I still need you!  
Ageha: Let's just start the chapter without her. This could take a while.  
Ace: Miss Ed doesn't own...Harvest Moon...or Animal Parade...or its characters...but she does own Ageha and myself.  
Ageha: Thank you for reading, and please review!**

Chapter 15: The Harvest King Returns

Ageha stared. She couldn't help it. It's not every day that you meet the Harvest King, after all. Though she had to admit, he didn't look at all like she'd expected. She'd expected your basic stereotypical king, complete with fluffy cape thing, sceptre, and crown. This was...well, the complete opposite. He was tall, shirtless, and buff, with flowing red hair and energy practically emanating from him. Ageha went a little slack-jawed as she stared up at him.

She just hadn't expected him to be so...sexy.

Then he spoke, and his voice was like velvet. "You must be the one who rang the bells," he said. "Ageha, isn't it? Hikari's daughter?"

Not trusting her voice just yet, Ageha nodded vigorously. "Your Majesty!" Finn squeaked, bowing. The other Sprites followed suit, and Ageha gave an awkward imitation of their bows.

Concern flashed across the King's eyes. "Is Cef—I mean, the Goddess, is she alright?"

"Sh-she..." Ageha straightened, suddenly remembering why she was there. "The Tree is dying again! Please, you have to heal her!"

The King nodded. "Of course." He started to do something with his hands, when Ageha thought of something.

"W-wait!" His head whipped around to look at her again, confused. The Sprites were all giving Ageha incredulous stares as well. "Just...why did you have to leave? What kind of personal business or whatever does a deity have to do anyway?"

"That can wait, can't it?" he asked, his voice full of strained patience.

"No. Because...I think I've finally figured it out. You're...you're in love with the Goddess, aren't you?"

Finn squeaked and started tugging on Ageha's hair. "Ageha, don't speak to the Harvest King like that!"

Ageha ignored him and pressed on. "That's why you had to go, isn't it? Because you were in love with her and you knew it could never come to fruition because you're bound up here and she's stuck down there, so you left trying to find a way to 'cure' yourself or something, right?"

There was a brief silence. Then he nodded, his face slowly starting to match his hair. _Deities can blush?_ Ageha thought. "Yes," he said quietly. "I found myself in love with her several years after your brother went to deliver the Tree sprout. I panicked and fled, leaving the note and the ring in case of emergency. I never dreamed that she would need me again so soon...the healing spell I cast before should have lasted hundreds of years."

Ageha pursed her lips. "Maybe you two are more tied than you thought. How did you feel while you were...wherever you were?"

"Miserable," he whispered.

"And she was sick. I think you need to be together. And I think I know exactly how to make that happen."

The Harvest King looked at her with confusion written across his finely chiselled features. _How? She can't have figured it out—not only after a few seasons! I've been trying to figure out a way to break the chains that bind me here and the other world for __years__, and I'm a __god__! How can a young farmgirl figure it out so quickly?_

"Listen, King, sir, if you could just heal the Goddess and her Tree, then I promise everything will work out alright."

The deity was still unsure as to how Ageha was going to do what she said she would, but that didn't change the fact that he still had a job to do. "Let's go to the pond, then," he said.

"Wait, I thought you couldn't leave this mountain." Ageha was confused.

"I can, but only for a brief amount of time...not long enough to stay with the Goddess forever, but long enough to restore her tree." A bright light enveloped them, and suddenly Ageha, the Sprites, and the King were standing in front of the Goddess Tree.

The Goddess was surprised to see them. "Ignis!" she blurted.

The King's eyes widened. "C-Cefia..."

Alan and the other Sprites gasped. "What just happened? Why are they freaking out?" Ageha whispered to Finn.

"They just used each other's true names!" her companion hissed back. "No one is supposed to know them!"

"Cefia, you look so pale..." the King (sorry, Ignis) said, cupping her face in one hand.

She smiled up at him. "I'll be all right, now. You're here, however temporarily. That's all I need to know."

"Oh, for...JUST HEAL THE DAMN TREE ALREADY!" Ageha shouted, annoyed with all the lovey-dovey-ness. If anything else fluffy happened, she would gag.

Finn wasn't sure whether he should be glad that she'd said what was on everyone's minds or angry with her for screaming at two gods.

The Harvest King fixed his fiery glare on her, then returned to the task at hand. He held out his hand, palm out, towards the tree, and glowing energy started gathering in front of his hand, streaming out towards the tree and enveloping it. It shone with pure energy for a moment, then the light dimmed.

Everyone looked expectantly at the Goddess. She drew in a deep breath, then let it out with a smile. "It worked," she said.

With those two simple words, an ecstatic cheer rose from the throats of Ageha and the Sprites. Finn glomped Ageha, making her stumble back with a laugh.

They weren't the only ones who noticed the change. Pheobe, relaxing in the hot springs in the Garmon Lower Mine, noticed the temperature increase a few comfortable degrees. Craig was out working in his fields when he noticed that the soil was a lot easier to till all of a sudden. Toby pulled in a King Fish for the first time in years. A sudden gust of wind sent the Big Windmill spinning and ruffled Hanna's hair. Dakota, who was visiting Ace at his home, couldn't help but notice that Ace was a lot more smiley than usual. All over Castanet, the land and its people felt the return of nature.

The ring on Ageha's finger began to glow, and she glanced down at it. "What—?"

"You are to be granted one wish, as thanks," the King explained. "The glowing of the ring means it's time for the wish to be made."

Ageha looked from the ring to the King to the Goddess and back. Then she smiled. "Oh, trust me, I know _exactly_ what I'm going to wish for." There was a flash of light and...

Nothing happened.

There was a pause. Then Finn said, "Ageha, it didn't work."

The King was about to ask what she'd tried to wish for when he realized something. Usually, when he was away from his mountain throne and the other world, he felt this pull tugging him back home. That pull was gone. The Goddess was noticing something similar. They both looked at the young woman in front of them, nothing short of absolute shock on their faces. She grinned back at them. "Oh, yes it did."

"You...you gave up your wish...to bring us together?" the King said, stunned.

She shrugged. "Well, it's not like I need anything that I can't work hard to get. And, well, I did promise."

Ignis stared in shock for a few more seconds before turning to Cefia. "Cefia, I..."

She nodded and laid a hand on his cheek, much like he'd done with her earlier. "I know."

Ageha and the Sprites decided this would be a good time to take their leaves.

"So everything worked out alright then?"

Ageha was talking to Lucy on the phone that night after showering and changing into her fuzziest pyjamas. "Yeah, the King and the Goddess are here to stay," she replied, sipping her tea.

"Wow, Ageha, that's amazing! So, are you gonna keep working on the farm?"

"Sure I am. Why wouldn't I?" There was a knock at the door. "Just a minute, Lucy, someone's at the door."

Cursing the timing of whoever it was, she opened the door to see a jubilant Heath standing there. "You did it, Ageha!" he practically screamed, crushing her in the bear hug to end all bear hugs.

"Heath, what the—!"

He let go and beamed at her. "The land's all revitalized and stuff! It's amazing! _You're_ amazing, Ageha!"

Blushing like mad, Ageha shook her head. "Nah, not really. I mean, all I did was just ring the bells. The Harvest King did all the real work."

"Oh, shush. You're amazing, and that's all there is to it," he retorted stubbornly. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you want to go see everything you've done after work tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why, Heath, are you asking me on a date?"

Flashing one of his grins, he replied, "Maaaaaybe."

"In that case," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek, "I'll see you here tomorrow at four."

Beaming again, he cheered, kissed her back, and raced back up the mountain, waving the entire way.

Ageha shook her head and closed the door, heading back to Lucy and her tea. "What have I gotten myself into?" she asked Finn.

"Well, whatever it is, you know you'll have fun," Finn replied.


	17. Epilogue

**Ed: And...it's over. This is the end. Dude. This just...doesn't happen.  
Ageha: Sure it does. You've finished stories before.  
Ace: Most of them Harvest Moon, too...  
Ed: Meh. Well, you know something? I'm actually not too proud of this ending. But, well, at least it's over, and I can stop writing the bloody thing.  
Ace: We'll miss you all...and your reviews...  
Ageha: Nice to meet you, and thanks for allowing Ed to give us life.  
Ed: Please review! And I only own Ace and Ageha.  
Ace: Hey, you did your own disclaimer for once...  
Ed: Well, I am capable of it, after all. I'm not going to be writing a lot of Harvest Moon for a while; I'll be focusing more on my Bionicle fics. But till then, sayonara!**

Epilogue: Heroes and Harvest Sprites and People Who Believe

Ten years later.

"Hi, Grandpa!" six-year-old Celeste chirped, running to Castanet's resident fortune teller.

Gale looked at his daughter with a look that said, "Why did you teach your kids to call me 'Grandpa?' It makes me feel old." (Never mind the fact that he had centuries worth of memories.) Nevertheless, he picked her up with a smile. "Hello...Celeste...are you being good...for Mommy?"

Ageha laughed and guided four-year-old Orion to Hikari, his grandmother. "Say hi to Gran'ma, honey."

Orion flashed a grin, with the dimple he'd inherited from his father showing clearly. "Hi Gramma!"

"Orion, you grow every day!" Hikari laughed. She looked at Heath, standing slightly behind Ageha. "You've been feeding him right, then?"

Heath ducked his head, embarrassed. "Y-yes'm." He was still intimidated by the spunky ex-farmer and the silent wizard.

"Mom, you're scaring him," Ageha laughed. "Thanks again for agreeing to babysit."

Hikari waved a hand, dismissing it. "No problem. These two remind me of you and Ace as kids. Besides, the number of times we dumped you two on Yolanda when we needed some down time...it's only right that we take our turn, as distinguished elders of the community."

"I...am _not_...old," Gale muttered, playing pattycake with Celeste.

"Yes you are, shush," Hikari teased.

After a little more conversation, Ageha and Heath thanked Hikari and Gale again and went to the Ocarina Inn for dinner together. "So," Heath said on the way. "It's been ten years."

She nodded. "I still can't believe it. I went to visit the King and the Goddess the other day after work. They're very happy. The King thanked me again, and said he was re-thinking his opinion on humans. Whatever that means."

"Hmm," he sighed, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Well, whatever it means, Castanet is still safe for years to come. Let's enjoy it."

She leaned into him as they neared the Inn. "Right."

And as they opened the door and heard Maya and Dakota's synchronized "Welcome!", they knew that everything would be alright—forever. As long as there were heroes and Harvest Sprites and people who believed.


End file.
